MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti political commentator Pyotr Romanov) - We must ask this question, because mere deliberations about the ruthlessness and irrationality of Islamic terrorists are not enough this time.
We must honestly analyze the tragedy and draw lessons from it to find an answer.
Russia, as well as other countries, should learn from it. After all, if not for the reckless American operation in Iraq, the Russian diplomats would be alive today, and many other lives would have been saved. Tens of thousands of innocent people, foreigners and Iraqis alike, have died in Iraq. They are the victims of a war that was started on a false pretext and will end, at best, with the creation of a feeble democracy.
Afghanistan is a good reference point. Despite the victorious operation there, the global press is writing critically about Karzai's government, which cannot control the situation in the country, stop the resurgence of the Taliban, and end the flourishing drug business. The same future can be predicted for Iraq, whose government could survive only with external military assistance.
Unfortunately, few people, especially in Washington, stop to think about whether this semblance of democracy is worth the blood spilled to win it. Frankly speaking, this is an imperial, not a democratic, policy because it is the content and not the form that matters. Ancient Rome remained an empire and pursued an imperial policy even when it was ruled by the Senate and not by an emperor.
Therefore, American condolences for the deaths of the Russian diplomats appear hypocritical even though White House officials may sincerely sympathize with the families of the executed hostages.
Shocking as it may sound, the United States is responsible for their deaths, because it was its imperial policy that provoked their kidnapping and execution, as well as the deaths of tens of thousands of other victims of a war waged in the name of pseudo-democracy.
The deaths of the Russian diplomats spotlighted the ineffectiveness of the Iraqi authorities, the American occupation forces (who are bound by international law to bear full responsibility for the situation in the occupied country), and Russia, which failed to protect its citizens. Yes, Russia is also to blame.
This tragedy has no relation to Chechnya, though the terrorists killed the kidnapped Russian diplomats in a show of solidarity with their "comrades-in-arms" there. I am not sure the Islamic fundamentals understand that they have lost the Chechen war not to Russia, but to Chechens, who have taken up arms to cleanse their mountains of the remaining "forest brothers."
Therefore, the withdrawal of Russian troops from Chechnya, which the terrorists demanded, would not change much in the North Caucasian republic. Chechens, who cannot be pulled out of Chechnya, have shown both at the polls and by fighting the remaining bandit groups that Islamic fundamentalism does not suit them.
I also have some other questions. I want to question the wisdom of Russia's policy in the Middle East and the Islamic world as a whole. The Russian diplomats were not saved by Hamas's visit to the Kremlin, or Russia's show of friendliness toward Iran, or its apparent intention to develop closer relations with Islamic states. I will not question the correctness of this policy, because it is justified and logical, but "the devil is in the details." Therefore, we should scrutinize our policy for weak points and revise all the details again and again.
I think we should also review our policy towards Hamas, which won the January elections in Palestine. Terrorism is terrorism no matter where it operates - in Chechnya, the U.S., the U.K., Spain or Palestine. The war against this evil must be consistent, principled, and uncompromising. We must abandon all illusions and admit that terrorism does not honor agreements, and therefore it is senseless to build a policy on an illusory hope of coming to terms with extremists.
The tragic deaths of the Russian diplomats brought me back to the presidency of Boris Yeltsin, when the Russian security services were overhauled into near-extinction. They needed reform, but it should have been carried out wisely, as no state can exist without a highly professional security service, especially now that we are fighting a merciless war against terrorism. In a way, the deaths of the Russian diplomats were a time bomb planted in our past. The act of dismantling is simple, but it might take decades to restore an effective system of state security.
I do not mean that the hostages would certainly have been saved if the Russian security service were at its best now. It is shocking that the Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed the deaths of the diplomats a day after the videotape of their execution was placed on the Internet. How could we hope that they would be saved if the ministry did not have reliable information about their fate? So much for the importance of a highly effective security service.
Russia will hardly change the mentality of the U.S. political elite, but it can and must revise its own policy and do everything necessary to ensure the safety of its citizens at home and abroad.
Judging by official statements, the current Russian authorities differ from the error-prone revolutionary romantics of the Yeltsin era in that they understand what they should do. The next step is to translate this knowledge into practical action.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and may not necessarily represent those of RIA Novosti.
