Eight years ago today Muslim Chechen separatists occupied School Number One (SNO) in the town of Beslan, North Ossetia which is an autonomous republic in the North Caucasus region of the Russian Federation. They took over 1,100 faculty, students and their parents hostage demanding that the Russians leave Chechnya. After three days of negotiations, during which hostages and terrorists alike died, Russian paramilitary forces retook the school. Unfortunately, 377 were killed during the operation.
Terrorists have have conducted this sort of action more than once in various parts of the world. Even the recent mass shooting in Aurora, Colorado is a portent of things to come. Citizens and Law Enforcement alike should be vigilant. For citizens, if it doesn’t look right, avoid the situation. For LE and first responders, it is imperative to practice. Even rock drills and command post exercises to work out command and control as well as communications issues is critical. Learn critical skills. Be prepared to transition from regular duties to dealing with single and multiple active shooters. Get the proper equipment and know how to use it.
I recommend all read up on this operation and study both the actions of the terrorists as well as those of Government forces.
Tags: Beslan
A perfect example of how the terrorist have won. Not by killing us but by robbing us of our liberties. The author says Aurora is an example of things to come which is exactly what the industrial complex wants you to believe. For where would we be without a perpetual enemy to focus resources on. Civilians avoid things that don’t look right. Well according to DHS nothing looks right. LE practice command post exercises because that’s exactly what I want to see when I take my family to the movies: not.
Whether you like it or not, bad people want to kill you and your family. They might be Islamo-fascists or homegrown nut cases, but they are out there. It’s not that they hate you personally, but they hate and you are a tool to be used to spread their message. Don’t be a victim. Vigilance is key to our survival as a Nation.
Vigilance fine, I agree. A bloated perverted police state I have a problem with. The militarization of our police forces and the demonization of our veterans is unwarranted in my opinion. DHS is way more worried about searching granny’s panties at the airport than they are external threats to this nation. Without curtailing liberties in the form of 2nd amendment infringements there is nothing that can be done about psychotic behavior. Giving up those rights for what is really only perceived safety is unacceptable IMO. More laws and phone tapping calls to grandma are not going to stop psychotics. No matter the amount of enforcement criminals will find a way to do there dirty deeds. To lose what it means to be an American in the process of the war on terror is cowardly and a disgrace.
The answer isn’t in creating a “security state” (or police state). We don’t need further militarization of the police and/or to find new and creative ways to get the military involved here at home (DSCA on steroids), instead we need to realize that there is a price for freedom and that price is accepting that greater liberty means greater risk. I am willing to accept that risk IF I am allowed to exercise my liberty without infringement by government flunkies who have my “best interests” at heart.
The best defense against tyranny AND terrorism is a well-armed citizenry. Read the 2nd Amendment with the intent of the founders and an understanding of the state of the English language at the time and you will understand just how wise those men were:
“A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”
ALL men between ages 18 and 45 were considered “the militia” at the time and were required to maintain a musket, ammo, bayonet and a knapsack. Keep in mind that the musket was the “assault weapon” of its time because of its rapid rate of fire relative to the more accurate but slow to load rifles that most favored for hunting. “Well regulated” in the language of the period means “well trained.” Thus, “well regulated militia” means well trained citizen soldiers, which, by law, encompassed every able bodied male between 18 and 45.
If more citizens took responsibility for their own and their community’s security to heart and sought both the weapons and the training to do so, the threat of more Beslans would be minimized.
Things have changed, regardless of do we want it or not. Schools, maternity facilities and kids are good targets, because they have an enormous impact in most, especially western, societies, so naturally yet sadly there are persons out there to exploit that for whatever the reason.
I will not repeat the Lincoln’s quote of security and freedom, as it is still relevant, but there are bad guys to be slain out there, so good guys have to keep the edge and be ready to (re)act.
Anyone interested in trying to create a contingency, or at least some resemblance of a plan for this sort of thing needs to read the accounts of this incident. Especially the first day.