flamming_python wrote:Somehow I doubt most Chechens participate in terrorism whether directly or indirectly.
They are more busy rebuilding their homes, making a living and raising families like everyone else.
When you put a people in a desperate situation e.g. the Palestinians, they will resort to desperate measures, idealize terrorist leaders such as Arafat as national leaders & icons, propaganda would be rampant and opinions to the contrary of the mainstream would be rarely publicly expressed albeit they would still be there.
That's pretty much what happened to the Chechens too (and before them other peoples in the USSR such as Baltic states and so on); now that the situation has normalised to a great deal - civil society is going to start working and crime, support for armed rebellion, etc... is going to tank.
Well 1stly, look how many Russians were killed in the Chechen wars. Look how many Chechen combatants there were. That hardly suggests that the terror group was a tiny, inconsequential fringe group does it? This lot fought for a long time against a powerful, even if dated, super-army.
2nd, terrorism isn't just the black widow strapped with explosives. Its the heroin importer, the money washers, the people traffickers etc etc. Many places around the World, the economy chooses to be a black one. Everything is managed by hard core leaders of terrorism. I've actually spoken to these types of people. Utterly smug in their actions, often considering themselves above the law. These are terrorists as much as the black widow. They choose the black economy, not because they have to. But because of spite and hatred and bigotry.
3rd, you say "making a living". But unfortunately "making a living" can mean supporting terrorist enterprises. Even if its something as simple as buying fuel without the excise paid.
4th the Chechen wars didnt happen because Yeltsin was being harsh. It was because of the complete opposite. He was a corrupt idiot, to busy drinking vodka, screwing his citizens, helping oligarchs and pinching female politicians behinds. Terrorists dont respect weakness. They are bullies, they thrive on it. And unfortunately they did.
The terrorists view is that the Caucuses are inching towards independence by a policy of low key ethnic cleansing. Exploit weakness, and that process is accelerated. Why give terrorists special economic support? Why give them a top football team like Anzhi, skyscraper filled cities? Decent law abiding citizens across Russia dont get that. Why should terrorism give them special privileges. Its not right, its not fair. And ultimately it wont defeat terror. It will only support it.
And ofcourse, unlike some here, Im not saying that all Muslims are terrorists. However, I do think we are forced to consider terrorism as a series of levels. And that Muslim communities must share responsibility, not just the black widow with the bomb.