Siege Ends - Russian commandos

Siege Ends - Russian commandos stormed the theatre in Moscow, ending a three-day siege where Chechen terrorists had held 800 Russians hostage.

67 hostages died, along with all 34 Chechens. Around 750 hostages - 90% - were saved.

This quote is the beef:

...one bystander, Igor Konstantinov, in his 60s, was in no doubt about what he thought.

"Putin has only one choice. (U.S. President George W.) Bush showed the world what to do with these bastards after September 11. It's Putin's turn to liquidate them in Russia."

Terrorism seeks to force people to adopt a bunker mentality, to abrogate all they believe in out of fear. The US, after September 11, showe that terrorists aren't safe in their bases. The Russians, I think, have showed us that terrorists aren't invincible, even given their disdain for life and ability to start their battles on their own agenda. And it shows that even the impossible situations can be turned into victories - albeit costly ones.

One wonders what Al Gore would have done in a situation like this.