The Chechen terrorists are religious fanatics, but the Russian government has to take some of the blame at the escalating scale of this violence. Their aggression towards terrorism - that makes even Bush's look tame by comparison - has squeezed any justice out of their treatment and turned a bunch of nationalist 'freedom fighters' into monsters who will blow themselves up or commit the worst atrocities. Bush, Sharon, Putin - none of them are worth a badger's arse against terrorism. Hardline approaches NEVER work, except to make things worse.
That said, I don't think the political element means much to the families and children involved right now. I hope very much it's resolved peacefully, or that Russian special forces pull off an amazing rescue, but neither history or probability is on their side. :-( Remember the theatre massacre when they tried using gas?
