Basayev having the remains of his foot surgically removed
CNN is reporting this morning that Shamil Basayev, the terrorist who bragged about planning the Beslan massacre, has been killed by Russian security forces. This victory is far more important to Russians than the killing of Zarqawi was for the Americans in Iraq - this is the equivalent of us nailing Osama Bin Laden.
CNN has more details:
Russian television showed Patrushev meeting Monday with Putin to tell him about the special operation in Ingushetia -- a republic bordering Chechnya -- in which Basayev was killed in the early morning hours of Monday.The Russian agents exploded a truck bomb next to several cars in which Basayev and other rebels were riding, according to Interfax, which was quoting Ingush Deputy Prime Minister Bashir Aushev.
"This is retaliation he deserves for killing our children in Beslan, Budennovsk, all the terrorist acts his bandits perpetrated in Moscow and other regions of Russia, including Ingushetia and the Chechen Republic," Patrushev said in an Interfax report.
Law enforcement officials in Ingushetia told Interfax Basayev's body was in pieces but it was identified by his head and by the fact that he had earlier lost a foot.
Twelve other Chechen rebels were killed in the operation, the official said.
A statement on website www.kavkazcenter.com said the Chechen rebel leadership was not making any comment yet, Reuters news agency said.
The U.N. Security Council put Basayev on its official terrorist list last year after Washington classified him as a threat to the United States.
Russia Blog congratulates the Russian security forces for a job well done. We know that Basayev's death is small comfort to the families of his victims, but it is a huge step towards peace and prosperity in the Caucuses and another stinging defeat for the global jihad.
UPDATE1: Russian newspapers are quoting President Bush's comment this afternoon at the G-8 Summit press conference, "If this is the person who planned the murders of the children of Beslan, he got what he deserved."
UPDATE2: U.S. Army National Guard Captain Jason Van Steewyk echoes my thoughts exactly about how, even in death, the AP cannot bring itself to use the t-word for a child killer.
UPDATE3: The latest AP story today uses the word "terrorized" and describes Basayev as a "ruthless warlord". Perhaps I spoke too soon.
Click on the extended post to see Shamil Basayev's legacy - WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES
May Basayev's name be blotted from memory.
UPDATE: 12/27/2006 - RIA Novosti reports that the identity of Shamil Basayev's remains have been confirmed through DNA testing.
You!!! Russians killed children in Beslan... You are murderer.
I love you Russian like brothers but you realy screwed up in Chechennia !
Putin is the one ho diserts to be hanged, no schoud to work in Workuta mine for rest of his life.
Long live free Iczkeria !!
.... Putin, mass murder !!
Allach Ackbar !!
ZAPOROROZHE!!!
You ****** ******* ****** *******
One man's terrorist is another's freedom fighter...
"One man's terrorist is another's freedom fighter..."
this is the same stupid slogan we have been hearing for decades. My question in response is always: what freedom or prosperity have these fighters brought to their people...? Kurdistan's pashmerga have helped us topple Saddam Hussein and now Kurdistan is the most peaceful, prosperous part of Iraq - and not because we gave them money, but because the Kurds wanted to build something.
All these jihadist groups build nothing, they only want to tear someone else down, whether it is Israel, Russia or America. What freedoms have Arafat and his successors brought to the Palestinians? Are Palestinians free to criticize their leaders? Are Lebanese free to say, "Excuse me Mr. Hezbollah, please don't fire your rocket next to my house"? Of course not.
Would it be acceptable under international law for a minority party holding seats in the U.S. Congress to start a war with Canada, if they were receiving money from Mexico to do so? Of course not, but the "freedom fighters" are never expected to follow any rules, never held accountable when their actions actually are perfunctorily condemned (how about putting Nasrallah on trial at the Hague?). They expect to operate in both worlds, the political and the terrorist (aka "militant wing") - to have their "soldiers" and parliamentarians treated by Western countries according to the Geneva Conventions while they neglect to wear uniforms, launch rockets at civilians, decapitate innocents for "jihadi porn" snuff films, and deliberately place neighboring civilians in harms way in the hopes of provoking the sympathies of the "international community" while pocketing cash from their state sponsors (especially Iran) and pretending that they are a "popular movement".
It is only states that hear lectures about "international law", but this is probably because Europeans know that Israelis aren't going to order them killed in broad daylight on the streets of Amsterdam, whereas the jihadists have announced that they will "behead those who insult Islam" wherever they can be found.
Stop engaging in Stockholm syndrome and giving these people respect. Instead mock them, call them terrorists, and most importantly, cut off their funding. It is time for the individuals funding all of this in Tehran to pay the price, rather than the Lebanese people.