Several posts ago, I postulated on some political scenarios that I think may develop in the coming years. Certainly, this caused some to believe that perhaps I may be just a little bit crazy. Now it is time to remove all doubts! For Christmas Carlene (here's her blog) got me some books, one of which is Terror at Beslan: A Russian Tragedy with Lessons for America's Schools, by John Giduck. One of my predictions was that there will be another terrorist attack in the U.S. I firmly believe that what we will face will be exactly what is put forth in this book.
Terror at Beslan is a real life account of a terrorist attack at a Beslan public school. Beslan, for those of you who don't know, is located in North Ossetia, which is just north of the former Soviet state of Georgia. It is an area rife with terrorism, murder, kidnappings, and even human slave trafficking. This is not the kind of place you would see highlighted on some PBS travel show.
Anyway, Chechnya is right next door, and is home to, surprise, Chechens!, many of whom have turned to Islamic terrorism as a way to further their cause in their struggle for independence from Russia. It has largely been successful, as the Western media has tended to view the murderous Chechens as some sort of "freedom fighter" despite the inhuman acts they have perpetrated against those who fall into their hands. I will not describe some of the monstrous things they do, as this is a family blog, and I don't want to scare the kids. But if they ever invite you over for a friendly game of catch, take a large, noggin' sized mitt.
In their effort to expand their scope of operations, these Chechen terrorists have taken to working directly with Islamic terrorists, who have the knowhow, the experience, and the money, to spread the work of death among those who oppose the Chechens. Most of their endeavors revolved around taking hostages and making impossible demands. Usually the terrorists end up dead, but not often enough.
Beslan Middle School #1 houses grades 1-11, and typically hold about 1,000 students. September 1st, 2004, however, was the first day of school, and the school grounds were packed with students and their families. And that was when the terrorists chose to strike. Approximately 30 terrorists, Chechens and Islamic Arabs working together, stormed the school, herding everyone they could drive ahead of them into various parts of the school building. Around 1,200 men, women, and mostly children were taken captive. The terrorists picked out any persons that they thought may be able to fight back and executed them. They then proceeded to rape, torture, and kill those trapped inside for three days. The unspeakable acts committed by Chechens in the past was a day at the park compared to the horrors unleashed upon the hostages they held with guns and bombs.
On day three, the Russian military stormed the school, and after hours of face-to-face gun fights, all the terrorists were finally killed. Over 300 hostages, soldiers, and bystanders were died.
That is a very brief synopsis of the event that lead to the book. Giduck then goes on to describe such things as the plans that the Russians had in place to deal with this attack, what the terrorists had been planning, how it could have been handled more effectively (i.e.-with fewer deaths), and how the United States will likely deal with it when it happens here.
There's the most important part of the book: When it happens here. This was not the first attack on a school and directed toward children. This is something the terrorists have been doing in other countries for years. India, Russian, Israel, and others, have all fallen victim, and many experts agree that it is only a matter of time before the terrorists take aim at America's schools. In fact, they already have. Floor plans and diagrams of American schools have been found on computers confiscated from terrorists. One of those schools was here in Oregon. These terrorists are far more patient than we are, and when the time is right, they will strike.
And when they strike, America will suffer greatly. We will yearn for the days when radical Islamic terrorists simply flew airplanes into buildings, because as a nation, we are hopelessly unprepared for what will happen. And with so many roadblocks to becoming prepared (political, moral, ethical, legal, etc.), there is little hope that we will ever be ready to deal with an attack of this magnitude.
You will have to read the book to get the particulars, because that is far too lengthy a discussion to get into on this homely blog. Needless to say, this is a horrifying book, but one which I feel is necessary for everyone to read. Americans, as a people, seem to have a remarkably short memory. What happened last week is old news and no longer worth thinking about today. It's that inability to remember our past that puts us in so much danger today.
I know, I'm crazy. Maybe I worry too much (no maybe about that one, really), but I hope that I'm wrong, and that John Giduck's next book isn't Terror in Portland: How America Failed to Protect Her Children.
Okay, so thanks for coming. I'm sorry that was so depressing. I promise I'll write something more uplifting next time. Assuming that anyone will continue reading my blog after this.
