Article of the Day
Bwahaha. See how many days this will last.
Today's article: Chaos in the Caucasus, from Economist; 10/09/99, Vol. 353 Issue 8140, p23, 4p, 5bw. I figure listing the whole citation is safest.
This article was assigned by my history professor as required reading before our guest speaker comes on Friday. I found it very interesting because (a) it was written in 1999 and (b) it talks about events in Russia that seem eerily similar to events in the U.S. post-9/11. I'm not sure if that's what my professor intended, but she can be very subliminal like that. In any case, the article talks about the supposed "rift" between Christianity and Islam, and the historical reasons for this rift. Interestingly, the reasons for the rift between Russia and Chechnya seem quite similar to the reasons for the rift between the U.S. and Afghanistan. In fact, the article even mentions this rift as an aside, hinting at the possibility of future terrorism in the U.S., but never quite predicting it. In any case, the reasons are quite similar. Chechnya first became a part of Russia after a 50 year conflict in which the the Tsarist regime crushed local rebellion. The Soviet rule only served to inflict further pain for local Muslims as their religious practices were suppressed. The result? A nation full of highly nationalistic citizens that served as fertile breeding grounds for violent opposition groups and numerous attacks on urban Russia.
As for the U.S.: the United States provided aide to Afghanistan and her allies (including Osama bin Laden) just long enough for them to drive the Soviets out. As soon as the Russians were gone, the U.S. pulled out, leaving Afghanistan empoverished, ruined and angry. Is it any wonder that a few militant extremists would attack the U.S., thinking that somehow the attacks would repay her for all the pain and suffering? To think that the attacks were based on Islamic thinking is flawed. To think that they were based on a hatred for our freedom is simply ludicrous.
Sorry to leave off like this, but I have a lot of work to do.
Melanie
Today's article: Chaos in the Caucasus, from Economist; 10/09/99, Vol. 353 Issue 8140, p23, 4p, 5bw. I figure listing the whole citation is safest.
This article was assigned by my history professor as required reading before our guest speaker comes on Friday. I found it very interesting because (a) it was written in 1999 and (b) it talks about events in Russia that seem eerily similar to events in the U.S. post-9/11. I'm not sure if that's what my professor intended, but she can be very subliminal like that. In any case, the article talks about the supposed "rift" between Christianity and Islam, and the historical reasons for this rift. Interestingly, the reasons for the rift between Russia and Chechnya seem quite similar to the reasons for the rift between the U.S. and Afghanistan. In fact, the article even mentions this rift as an aside, hinting at the possibility of future terrorism in the U.S., but never quite predicting it. In any case, the reasons are quite similar. Chechnya first became a part of Russia after a 50 year conflict in which the the Tsarist regime crushed local rebellion. The Soviet rule only served to inflict further pain for local Muslims as their religious practices were suppressed. The result? A nation full of highly nationalistic citizens that served as fertile breeding grounds for violent opposition groups and numerous attacks on urban Russia.
As for the U.S.: the United States provided aide to Afghanistan and her allies (including Osama bin Laden) just long enough for them to drive the Soviets out. As soon as the Russians were gone, the U.S. pulled out, leaving Afghanistan empoverished, ruined and angry. Is it any wonder that a few militant extremists would attack the U.S., thinking that somehow the attacks would repay her for all the pain and suffering? To think that the attacks were based on Islamic thinking is flawed. To think that they were based on a hatred for our freedom is simply ludicrous.
Sorry to leave off like this, but I have a lot of work to do.
Melanie
posted by Patrick and Melanie Zabawa at
4/14/2005 09:46:00 PM
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