Terror, Religion, and Sensibility

A succession of recent events leads to obvious questions whose answers may be shrouded permanently in ambiguity. One question is whether the newest allies in the "war on terror" always were allies or whether domestic events led them to the conclusion that terrorism is a serious threat that must be defeated. The simple answers are yes and yes.

Item: On 24 August two civilian aircraft left one of Russia's most modern airports. The planes crashed within minutes of each other, apparently as the result of activity by two Chechen homicide bombers.

Item: On 30 August Islamic militants in Iraq took two French journalists as hostages. The militants intended to use the journalists to pressure the French government to reverse its ban on Islamic head scarves in schools. Time was of the essence; schools in France would open on 2 September. The captors threatened that if France did not retract its policy, the hostages would be killed.

Item: On 1 September another group of Chechen rebels seized control of a school in Russia during the school year opening ceremony. More than 350 people were taken hostage - most of them were women, children, and very young infants. The rebels threatened to bomb the school and to kill fifty children for each rebel killed or twenty children for each rebel wounded if Russian authorities tried to re-take the school by force. The captors refused to allow food and water supplies into the facility. During day two of the siege, thirty-two women were released. Prospects for peaceful resolution seemed remote.

The international response to these events was overwhelming. The French hostage taking had the opposite impact than the captors expected. Rather than urging France to step back from its ban, even radical Islamic groups who previously opposed the ban supported the French government's firm stand to preserve the ban. That solidified response led the guerillas to transfer custody of the journalists to another Islamic rebel group and to commence dialogue with France for their eventual release. French diplomats confirm that the hostages allegedly are in satisfactory condition. The ongoing dialogue likely will not end with France retracting the ban.

In the case of the plane crashes in Russia, President Vladimir Putin acknowledges the crashes were terrorist-inflicted, but this admission seems quite different from his previous "the Chechens did it!" claims. It is accepted widely that the recent Presidential elections in Chechnya were conducted corruptly. The election was the terrorists' motivation: Cause havoc, delay the vote, and use the opportunity to exploit the separatists' campaign. It also is accepted widely that Chechen rebels and Al-Qaeda are linked. This link is not a "they have WMD!" threat assessment. This link is tangible and is derived from guerrilla tactics, documented weapons transactions, and the ease of migration from the Pankhisi Gorge in Georgia to the troubled Chechnya republic.

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