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| Caucasus |
| There Are No Rebels Left for Peace Talks |
| 2002-11-01 |
| Before the theater siege, Chechen rebel leader Aslan Maskhadov was regarded as Russia's most viable negotiating partner for a settlement in Chechnya. Now his legitimacy in the eyes of both Russia and the West has suffered a devastating blow as he has become inextricably linked to the radical wing of the Chechen separatist movement. There are those of us who never put him anywhere else... The brutality of the hostage-taking, combined with a war of words from Moscow, might end up delivering what Russia has long been hoping for — justification in the West for the war in Chechnya. "Our policy on Chechnya has moved closer to Russia," a senior U.S. diplomat said on condition of anonymity. "This attack has substantially damaged [the Chechen] cause." It's that "true colors" thing... The hostage drama is narrowing the gap between the West's perception of Chechen separatists and Russia's, with "Maskhadov-the-politician" beginning to look more like "Maskhadov-the-terrorist," said Andrei Ryabov, a political analyst at the Moscow Carnegie Center. "The Chechen cause had two faces: The one turned to the West was of a moderate Maskhadov and his European-looking envoy Akhmed Zakayev," Ryabov said. "For Russia, the rebels had reserved the mad murderer Khattab and outspoken terrorist Shamil Basayev. "The hostage drama blended these two faces into one in the world media and public consciousness." The hostage-taking pretty much took the mask off. Up to that point, they could claim they were hitting mostly military targets and a few sympathizers. That's what blurred the line between "rebel" and "terrorist." The theater was a really bad move on their part, if only because its chances of succeeding were remote. It'll take years for them to build the distinction up again, and they're going to have to dig up some different spokesmen... The day before his death, the leader of the hostage-takers, Movsar Barayev, told NTV television that he was acting under orders from Chechen warlord Basayev and that he and his group answered to Maskhadov. Maskhadov appointed Basayev as head of the rebels' operations in June. "The reaffirmation of his [Maskhadov's] alliance with Basayev tipped the balance against Maskhadov as interlocutor," the U.S. diplomat said. "We see him as unwilling to stand up to terror." Of course he's "unwilling to stand up to it." He plans and implements it. (Where do they get these people?) Ryabov said the theater attack had caught the West off-guard. "The West is confused because the image of the rebels that it so wanted to believe did not stand the test," he said. That's because we're slow learners. We want the world to be nice, and we like to believe that people aren't inherently evil. (If they're not, they can sure be trained into it easily enough.) Thanks to Steve for the link! |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |