Blast at hospital in Russia Caucasus kills least 20

[bemildred]

There have been a couple of other smaller successful attacks
by the Chechens lately, plus some large Russian claims of dead
rebels, but this seemed like a bigger splatter mark than has
been usual lately. Interesting again in that its a bit farther
afield than in the past.

MOSCOW, Aug. 1 - A blast at a military hospital near
Chechnya on Friday killed at least 20 people, the Russian
news agency Interfax reported.
Rescue teams were evacuating survivors from
beneath the wrecked building in the town of Mozdok in
North Ossetia, which houses one of Russia's biggest
Caucasus military bases, a duty officer of the
administration said.

MSNVC-Reuters

[Aidoneus]

1. Putin lays into 'slack' army after blast

Vladikavkaz - Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the military on Sunday of lax security that allowed a Chechen suicide bomber to kill at least 50 people and destroy a military hospital with an explosives-packed truck.

"This slackness, which we see in a whole range of cases and which assists crime and terrorist attacks, is incomprehensible," Putin was quoted by Itar-Tass news agency as telling top legal officials.

Russian officials blamed Chechen rebels for Friday's attack on the hospital in the town of Mozdok near Chechnya. Mozdok has a big military base that is used as a major staging point for Russia's drive to stamp out Chechen separatism.

The base's commander has been suspended and the hospital director has been detained in connection with an inquiry.

--snip--

Many servicemen hurt in Moscow's crackdown against separatists in Chechnya - Russia has tens of thousands of troops in the troubled republic - were sent for treatment at the hospital.

--snip--

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=24&art_id=qw1059954304215B262&set_id=1

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Pooty-Poot is on to something there, this is the same military that has sold many of the weapons the Chechen resistance uses to fire on them later. Detaining the hospital director for an inquiry? A Moscow Times piece on this has a couple of Ivanov's specific charges against the military in addition to Putin's above--

---------------------------------------------------------------

--snip--

Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov, who broke off his vacation and traveled to the site at the request of President Vladimir Putin, accused local commanders of disobeying orders by failing to take measures that might have prevented the bombing.

"There is already clear evidence of a direct violation of official duties, orders and instructions," Ivanov told reporters in Mozdok.

"In defiance of all existing orders and instructions, the hospital was not fitted with any means of forcing vehicles to stop, even though there have been direct orders to have these means in place," he said. "This already constitutes a violation of orders, not just slipshoddiness. People should be held personally responsible for this."

Criminal investigators will look into "the personal guilt of commanders of specific units" in failing to prevent the attack, Ivanov said, adding that he has relieved the head of the Mozdok garrison of his duties.

The Chief Military Prosecutor's Office later announced that Lieutenant Colonel Artur Arakelyan, head of the destroyed military hospital, had been arrested for suspected "criminal negligence" and "failure to carry out an order."

--snip--

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2003/08/04/001.html

[bemildred]

2. Yeah, I saw that story.

Perhaps if he paid them better, provided training, cleaned
up the officer corps, provided food and clothing, etc. it
would help improve the professionalism of the outfit.
:puke:

Edit: of course this is major league butt covering.

[LoneStarLiberal]

3. Northern Caucuses...

That whole stretch of territory from Abkhazia across North Ossetia (where Mozdok is located) into Ingueshitia through Chechnya and finally Dagestan is the soft underbelly of the Russian Republic in more than one way. The Russians were foolish to get involved in Chechnya the way that they did; some sort of under-the-table quid-pro-quo could have been negotiated and then everyone could get along with the business of being corrupt instead of the bloodbath that present-day Chechnya has become and will be for the forseeable future.

All those republics are wacko, though; Abkhazia and North Ossetia are both involved in land claims by their ethnic bretheren across the border in Georgia; Ingueshitia is a barely-functioning basketcase that plays unintentional host to all manner for rebelious and fundamentalist groups from other republics and countries in the region; Chechnya is, well, Chechnya; and the Chechens and Russians have done their damnedest to make certain Dagestan follows Chechnya down the same path to devolution and revolution.

[bemildred]

4. Welcome the the small band of Caucusus watchers here LSL.

A growing band now, I guess.
The S. Caucusus is not a very orderly place either.
Never has been, any of it, from what I can tell.
None of this bourgeois shit.
You are correct, they would have been a lot smarter to cut a deal
and let the indigenes sort out their own business.

[LoneStarLiberal]

5. Civil Wars and Development

I'm a student of civil wars and post-war environments, so I'm naturally drawn to places where there is conflict...and right after most of Africa and Central Asia you just don't find conflict like you do in the Caucuses!

It is sadly humorous how large, relatively modern countries (I know you could argue that bit about modernity with Russia outside of Moscow and St. Pete's, but I'll give them the benefit for this comment) are so hell-bent on their exceptional nature that they liberally ignore bloody swatches of their history in their contemporary decision-making. There is NOTHING about Russian-Chechen relations that should have ever indicated to Boris Yeltsin or his Generals that they could find any greater success in Chechnya than the Czars did.

Likewise with us in Afghanistan and Iraq. Our administration's policy makers are so steeped and mired in contemporary American exceptionalism that we're now in the midst of two very difficult, long-term, and possibly intractible occupation/stabilization missions by our own choosing. Ditto for the Russians in Chechnya, although I think they may be in a worse spot than we are.

I'll look forward to more Caucuses news!

[bemildred]

6. Exceptionalism.

The illusion of central position, the world revolves around
you, and those you identify with.

A long and sorry list it is. I have reached the conclusion that
most governments most of the time do not make these decisions on
any rational basis. Herculean efforts are made to manipulate popular
opinion into going along with polices that ensure the destruction
of the government, and sometimes of the state itself. Yugoslavia
comes to mind, although things are quieter there now.

Why are loons of the stripe of Milosevic so common?