You're Next, Shamil!

"That's a hell of a hat that you're wearing..."

I might not agree with the Russian version of democracy, in it's current form. Putin's government tends to overextend its power to protect itself from controversy, whether real or imaginary. However, I can give their security services more credit. The above picture is Aslan Maskhadov, Chechnya's de facto leader. He is generally considered the planner of terrorist attacks such as the school attacks in Beslan, and the theatre attacks in Moscow. Well today we receive the news that Maskhadov has been killed in a Russian Special Forces operation. There are scant details about the operation, but there are indeed 2 stories. The only elements of each story that seem to be confirmed are these: He was killed in Tolstoy-Yurt, a village in Northern Chechnya, and that three of his loyalists had been detained for planning an attack, in Tolstoy-Yurt. One of the differing facts is that Maskhadov may have been killed by his own bodyguards, either intentionally or because they mishandled their weapons while trying to defend him. It doesn't really matter, he's dead. Next on the list is Shamil Basayev, the Chechen Warlord. It almost seems like Schadenfreude (I speak German, too!) to celebrate anyone's death, but in this case, I can make a special exception. This guy was top grade scum and should be in a Siberian prison, but he does have a special place in Hell waiting for him.