Navid
03-30-2004, 10:13 AM
The assocaited press anounced that shami basyave.. the famouse checen rebel leader has said he will attack russians everywhere and will use weapons of mass destruction..
My question is if basayve carries out a chemical attack or a weapon of mass destruction what should russia response be? First thing comes to mind is level all of chechnya with a weapon of mass destruction but obvously russia cant do that (or can it?)
echen Rebel Threatens to Strike Russians
By JUDITH INGRAM
.c The Associated Press
MOSCOW (AP) - The Chechen rebel leader threatened on Tuesday to strike Russians outside the country to avenge the killing of a senior rebel leader in Qatar.
Shamil Basayev also said the rebels fighting for independence from Russia reserved the right to use chemical weapons, according to a letter published Tuesday on a rebel Web site.
Basayev accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of ignoring Basayev's earlier call for Russian authorities to observe international law in Chechnya - specifically to end to alleged executions without trial and the disappearance of civilians - in return for an end to Chechen terrorist attacks against civilians in Russia.
Instead, Basayev charged, Russians killed rebel leader Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev in a February car bombing in Qatar - for which two Russian intelligence agents are in custody there awaitng trial - and continued to abduct civilians in Chechnya and the neighboring Russian region of Ingushetia.
``What Russians can do we can too,'' Basayev said in the letter published on the Kavkaz Center Web site, which has been a voice for his rebel camp.
``I swear to Allah, we have possibilities to destroy Russians in practically any country, but we had not carried military activities beyond the borders of Russia and today the events in Qatar will be decisive in our further activities,'' he wrote.
Basayev said his rebels would not touch mosques, synagogues, pagodas and churches other than Russian Orthodox ones, nursery schools, orphanages or psychiatric institutions in Russia, but he did threaten attacks within Russia.
``We will, to the extent possible, bomb, blow up, poison, set ablaze, and organize natural gas explosions and fires on everything else on Russian territory,'' he said.
Basayev also alleged that Russian forces were using chemical weapons and poisons against Chechens.
``That is why we reserve the right to use chemical and toxic substances and the same poisons against Russia,'' he said.
Russia's Federal Security Service refused to comment on the letter.
Basayev has taken responsibility for many terrorist acts, including the rebels' seizure of some 800 hostages in a Moscow theater in October 2002 and a recent series of suicide bombings in Moscow and other cities.
In early 1995, shortly after Russian forces entered Chechnya for the first war, Basayev claimed responsibility for a container of radioactive material found buried in a Moscow park. Basayev claimed it was planted by his cohorts as a warning of the mayhem they could inflict.
The current war in Chechnya, which began in 1999, has deteriorated into a bloody stalemate with Russian forces unable to decisively crush the outnumbered and outgunned rebels.
In the previous 24 hours, four soldiers and two police died in rebel attacks and mine explosions, an official in the Moscow-backed Chechen administration said Tuesday on condition of anonymity.
The bodies of five men were discovered Tuesday in the basement of an abandoned house in the Chechen capital, Grozny, the official said. The men's bodies showed signs of torture, he said. All were dressed in civilian clothes.
Chechens living nearby told The Associated Press that the remains were discovered in a well and that a military vehicle had been seen there about a week ago, discarding several sacks. Residents said they were frightened to investigate out of fear the area was mined to keep them away.
03/30/04 09:45 EST
Copyright 2003 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
My question is if basayve carries out a chemical attack or a weapon of mass destruction what should russia response be? First thing comes to mind is level all of chechnya with a weapon of mass destruction but obvously russia cant do that (or can it?)
echen Rebel Threatens to Strike Russians
By JUDITH INGRAM
.c The Associated Press
MOSCOW (AP) - The Chechen rebel leader threatened on Tuesday to strike Russians outside the country to avenge the killing of a senior rebel leader in Qatar.
Shamil Basayev also said the rebels fighting for independence from Russia reserved the right to use chemical weapons, according to a letter published Tuesday on a rebel Web site.
Basayev accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of ignoring Basayev's earlier call for Russian authorities to observe international law in Chechnya - specifically to end to alleged executions without trial and the disappearance of civilians - in return for an end to Chechen terrorist attacks against civilians in Russia.
Instead, Basayev charged, Russians killed rebel leader Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev in a February car bombing in Qatar - for which two Russian intelligence agents are in custody there awaitng trial - and continued to abduct civilians in Chechnya and the neighboring Russian region of Ingushetia.
``What Russians can do we can too,'' Basayev said in the letter published on the Kavkaz Center Web site, which has been a voice for his rebel camp.
``I swear to Allah, we have possibilities to destroy Russians in practically any country, but we had not carried military activities beyond the borders of Russia and today the events in Qatar will be decisive in our further activities,'' he wrote.
Basayev said his rebels would not touch mosques, synagogues, pagodas and churches other than Russian Orthodox ones, nursery schools, orphanages or psychiatric institutions in Russia, but he did threaten attacks within Russia.
``We will, to the extent possible, bomb, blow up, poison, set ablaze, and organize natural gas explosions and fires on everything else on Russian territory,'' he said.
Basayev also alleged that Russian forces were using chemical weapons and poisons against Chechens.
``That is why we reserve the right to use chemical and toxic substances and the same poisons against Russia,'' he said.
Russia's Federal Security Service refused to comment on the letter.
Basayev has taken responsibility for many terrorist acts, including the rebels' seizure of some 800 hostages in a Moscow theater in October 2002 and a recent series of suicide bombings in Moscow and other cities.
In early 1995, shortly after Russian forces entered Chechnya for the first war, Basayev claimed responsibility for a container of radioactive material found buried in a Moscow park. Basayev claimed it was planted by his cohorts as a warning of the mayhem they could inflict.
The current war in Chechnya, which began in 1999, has deteriorated into a bloody stalemate with Russian forces unable to decisively crush the outnumbered and outgunned rebels.
In the previous 24 hours, four soldiers and two police died in rebel attacks and mine explosions, an official in the Moscow-backed Chechen administration said Tuesday on condition of anonymity.
The bodies of five men were discovered Tuesday in the basement of an abandoned house in the Chechen capital, Grozny, the official said. The men's bodies showed signs of torture, he said. All were dressed in civilian clothes.
Chechens living nearby told The Associated Press that the remains were discovered in a well and that a military vehicle had been seen there about a week ago, discarding several sacks. Residents said they were frightened to investigate out of fear the area was mined to keep them away.
03/30/04 09:45 EST
Copyright 2003 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.