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Death toll has now risen to 195 - the siege has apparently ended, but they're still finding bodies. And I suppose some of those that were seriously wounded are not making it...

You listed the most significant Islamic terrorist attacks (which is practically redundant, since muslims are virtually the only people in the world committing these kind of atrocities) as 9/11, tha Bali bombings, and the London subway bombings.

I would modify that list to include the Beslan massacre. 1,100 hostages were taken, mainly children, and 334 hostages were murdered. The death tolls in the other attacks, with the exception of 9/11, don't measure up to this. Further, it was a cold-blooded attack against the very most vulnerable people, and the cruelty - depriving them of water, for example - was horrific.

I would put the list like this:

* 9/11
* Beslan
* Bali
* London Subway

MnMark wrote: > You listed the most significant Islamic terrorist attacks (which
> is practically redundant, since muslims are virtually the only
> people in the world committing these kind of atrocities) as 9/11,
> tha Bali bombings, and the London subway bombings.

> I would modify that list to include the Beslan massacre. 1,100
> hostages were taken, mainly children, and 334 hostages were
> murdered. The death tolls in the other attacks, with the exception
> of 9/11, don't measure up to this. Further, it was a cold-blooded
> attack against the very most vulnerable people, and the cruelty -
> depriving them of water, for example - was horrific.

> I would put the list like this:

> * 9/11
> * Beslan
> * Bali
> * London Subway

Sigh. I knew I was asking for trouble when I posted that list.

I certainly agree with you that the Beslan massacre was horrific, in
some ways the most horrific of all, because it was targeted at
children.

** Russian President Putin asks revenge for Beslan
** http://www.generationaldynamics.com/cgi ... 04#e040904

And it has had a lot of significance in Russia, and Putin's tough
response may be one of the reasons why he's so popular.

But it's had little international significance. It hasn't been
associated with al-Qaeda, or linked to other international terrorist
incidents, as the others in the list have, and as the Mumbai bombings
have.

It was even covered as an ordinary news event by ABC news.

** Russia infuriated over ABC 'Nightline' interview of Shamil Basayev
** http://www.generationaldynamics.com/cgi ... 29#e050729

This was possibly the single most tasteless, hideous and offensive
interview that I've ever seen, but outside of Russia, nobody cared.

Sincerely,

John

Only one phrase/acronym comes to mind when I hear all the media fear mongering, MAD. Nothing is going to happen here on the Indian subcontinent. Nothing ever does.

umoguy wrote:Only one phrase/acronym comes to mind when I hear all the media fear mongering, MAD. Nothing is going to happen here on the Indian subcontinent. Nothing ever does.

Mutual Assured Destruction???

John

John wrote:

umoguy wrote:Only one phrase/acronym comes to mind when I hear all the media fear mongering, MAD. Nothing is going to happen here on the Indian subcontinent. Nothing ever does.

Mutual Assured Destruction???

John

Very assured.

It doesn't take much to start a nuclear war. The U.S. barely avoided one with the U.S.S.R. and neither country was in a crisis era. India and Pakistan don't have the same luxury.

"which is practically redundant, since muslims are virtually the only people in the world committing these kind of atrocities"

Turn off CNN and FoxNews and you'll see there are things happening like this all over the world. Rwanda, Congo, Zimbabwe, China, Burma. I could go on. Most of the world would argue that the US is guilty of the same crimes in bombing civilians.

Much of it depends on your point of view. I was in SE Asia during the Beslan attack. The focus wasn't on the "what" so much as the "why." "In retaliation to..." Back home it was just "crazy f'n ragheads attack school." That doesn't justify it, but puts the entire world in a different perspective.

This attack was the same. Watching CNN, every second sentence was "American and British citizens targeted," yet less than, what, 5% were among the dead? Meanwhile people in the real world saw this as just another in a string of back and forth attacks in a age-old war between India and Pakistan. The fact westerners were involved was merely a coincidence in the bigger picture.