Beslan Hostage Rescue "competent"!

The Beslan Hostage Rescue operation was competent! That's the word from Russian state prosecutors, despite an earlier parliamentary enquiry's findings to the contrary.



Incompetence would be putting it lightly, I thought.

It was reported that there were three different groups of troops and police and no overall, unified command. It was also reported that firing was going on for hours and that the police and troops had a complete cordon around the school.

So, how many people were killed by security forces creating a 360 degree crossfire, using large-calibre weapons like AK47s and firing with apparently little or no discipline? And what lunatic thought flamethrowers were a good idea in a hostage rescue?

Related News Links:
news.bbc.co.uk

[edit on 26-12-2005 by HowlrunnerIV]

[edit on 26-12-2005 by HowlrunnerIV]

[edit on 26-12-2005 by HowlrunnerIV]

Mod Edit: Fixed Title.

[edit on 2/1/2006 by Mirthful Me]

Two days later and the federal parliamentary commission delivers its preliminary findings, which match the North Ossetian parliamentary commission's findings.

Beslan Rescue "full of holes"

The operation to free hostages held at a school in Beslan in 2004 was full of "failures and shortcomings" a Russian investigator has said.

Alexander Torshin, the man leading a federal enquiry, said regional police failed to follow orders which could have prevented an attack.

His preliminary findings contrast with a prosecutor's report which said security forces had made no mistakes.

That angered relatives of the 331 people who were killed at the school.

news.bbc.co.uk...

From the same article:

He told MPs "the list of failures and shortcomings is long."

From the same source:

Who is to blame for the first explosion in the school's gym - with more than 1,000 people in it - that led to the assault by Russian troops?

And why did the troops fire tank shells and flame-thowers - a move many in Beslan believe resulted in the deaths of 331 people.

news.bbc.co.uk...

Why the hell would you even take a flame-thrower to a hostage situation in the first place?

more...

The testimony of My Kulayev - who in May pleaded not guilty to all nine charges against him - also significantly differed from the version presented by the prosecutors.

The 24-year old Chechen carpenter said the first blast happened after a sniper killed one of the hostage-takers, who was holding a detonator.

Several survivors testified that just before the explosion they saw one of the gunmen controlling the detonator slumping off the chair.

Who didn't see this mess coming.

Perhaps this is the Russian september 11.

It's not the first attack by Shamil Basayev, and it won't be the last, but it's the bloodiest and it targeted children. Perhaps the Russians needed this one to succeed so they could paint the Chechens right into the corner of "evil terrorist child-killers" so they could have a really free hand in Chechnya, which has been becoming increasingly unpopular in Western Russia.

Police are sent to Chechnya and come back suffering PTS syndrome and are unemployable by their own departments.

Putin went into Chechnya promising the invasion would solve the terrorism and lawlessness problems and all it's done is bring the terrorism to Russia's cities. Including Moscow.

edit: sp

[edit on 28-12-2005 by HowlrunnerIV]

[edit on 28-12-2005 by HowlrunnerIV]