A thought for Russia
 

My heart goes out to all those parents, children and citizens affected by the terrible tragedy unfolding in Beslan.

Well said. Terrorism, we must remember, is rampant. So many innocents in this situation are affected, it's really awful.

BC

hanl, outstanding thought. This killing of innocents has got to stop!

The murder of children. It is unspeakably evil.

My heart goes out to those who had to endure this tragedy and for the loved ones of the people who were murdered.

My heart goes out to the horrified, innocent children and parents of this ordeal, along with the other citizens. It is absolutely awful.

My husband and I were just saying that there isn't a word to describe how evil these terrorists are.

And what did they think they would accomplish for their "cause?" What an awful day for everyone in that community.

What an awful day and event for not only that community, but for all Russians, and for everyone regardless of Nationality!

Nothing can justify terrorism.

Whatever happened to you or your loved ones or your country, it will never be okay to terrorize innocent people.

I can't understand why people think violence will solve anything.

I wish every parent in the world made sure their children understand this and when these children grow up we will live in a peaceful society.

I too have been horrified by the actions of those thugs. Its hard enough to deal with beheadings of innocent adults, but when children are involved it takes it to a new level. What is happening to/in Russia? What with this school thing, bus bombs, and the two airplanes a week or so ago. Even the Chechnian (sp?) people are demonstrating to distance themselves from these @$#@%&$#*s!! My fear is that we will see so much of this as to become jaded or complacent. While we used to react, we now hardly notice another Israel or Palestine bombing.
Shrink

My thoughts for the families of the thousands of Chechnian victims killed by the Russian army, and also for the Russian victims of today.

Hopefully something good will ultimately come out of this tragedy maybe this will make Chechnya independance more likely if the Russians are finally fed up with all this mess they started.

What kind of people TARGET a school, knowing that the greatest loss of life, the most injured and traumatized, will be children? This really is the face of evil.

"Hopefully something good will ultimately come out of this tragedy maybe this will make Chechnya independance more likely if the Russians are finally fed up with all this mess they started."

You sentiment right there expressed why someone would actually think that holding a school hostage would be a smart tactic.

The reality is that usually that kind of tactic usually only ups the ante. There is simply no way Russia now backs down. If anything, it will increase Putin's resolve and give him a mandate to be even more heavy handed.

The fallacy of the terrorist viewpoint is that rarely do they achieve anything based on their terrorism. What they eventually wind up fighting for is simply the terror - the cause often gets forgotten.

I agree with Ryan. If anyone is successful using terrorism then that only gives reason for more people to try it as a way to achieve their cause.

I don't think terrorists are ever very successful, but that doesn't stop people from doing it again and again...

They don't care who they kill. They may have killed a future Nobel Peace Prize winner or a future Einstein for all we know.

But the most important point is that people exposed to violence are more prone to violence themselves. It's a vicious cycle.

Absolutely horrible. What puzzles me is that the terrorists apparently had no exit plan, and made no real demands. They were not even negotiating. What's the point? Killing children just to get your cause on the front page? Rather than thinking the Russians would be best off getting out of Chechnia, this makes you think that an independent Chechnia, made up of these kind of people, is something that no-one would wish for.

"Hopefully something good will ultimately come out of this tragedy ..."

<b> Nothing good can ever come out of killing innocent babies. If these people get one positive result from actions such as these, then there will just be more terrorists, lined up , ready to do more inhuman acts of violence. There is no excuse in the world for anyone who does something like this.

</b>

Hundred of thousands of innocent japanese men, women and children have been killed in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, supposedly to shorten the WWII and thus ultimately save more American and Japanese lives.

The same logic could apply here, although I'm not quite sure of the motives of the chechnian terrorists.

So please stop with the one-sided moralism. Let's look at the bigger picture. War is always ugly, whoever kills or get killed.

Yes, war is always ugly. Bombing a city is horrendous. But <b>deliberately targeting</b> children is far uglier. It demonstrates a cynicism and thirst for cruelty that is beyond my comprehension.

tomato, take a hike with that twisted logic of yours. Terrorists have no &quot;bigger picture&quot;!