"Cuthbert Thistlethwaite" <nosillygods@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
news:414CBB63.6D24AEAB@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
> Looks like Putin's had it. Gloves off.
>
>
> "President Vladimir Putin said Friday that Russia is ''seriously
> preparing'' for preemptive strikes against terrorists, as Chechen
> warlord Shamil Basayev claimed responsibility for a school
> hostage-taking and other attacks that have claimed more than 430 lives."
>
> . . .
>
> "Lower-level officials, including Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov, have
> said that Russia could conduct preemptive strikes against terrorists
> abroad, saying such action could involve any weapons except nuclear."
>
> http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-russia18.html
"Any weapons except nuclear." heh, heh. Brace yourself for a series of
Big
Bangs, Akhmed, as FAE's (fuel-air explosives) are redeployed. They'd been
withdrawn from use in Chechnya after complaints from groups like Amnesty
International, etc. Putin will not put up with raghead bull****, and I
wouldn't put it past him to deal with the situation in the traditional
Russian manner, that is, brute force.
Backgrounder on Russian Fuel Air Explosives ("Vacuum Bombs")
February 2000
On December 27, 1999, Interfax re****ted Russian forces were using fuel-air
explosive bombs in the fighting in Chechnya.(1) The use of fuel-air
explosives (FAEs), popularly known in Russia as "vacuum bombs," represents
a
dangerous escalation in the Chechnya conflict--one with im****tant
humanitarian implications. FAEs are more powerful than conventional
high-explosive munitions of comparable size, are more likely to kill and
injure people in bunkers, shelters, and caves, and kill and injure in a
particularly brutal manner over a wide area. In urban settings it is very
difficult to limit the effect of this weapon to combatants, and the nature
of FAE explosions makes it virtually impossible for civilians to take
shelter from their destructive effect.
According to one Russian military scientist writing for the Russian
military
magazine Voyennyye Znaniya (Military Knowledge), FAE weapons are effective
against exposed personnel, combat equipment, fortified areas and
individual
defensive fortifications, clearing passages in minefields, clearing
landing
sites for helicopters, destroying communication centers, and neutralizing
strongholds in house-to-house fighting in a city.(2) In addition, he
stated
that "fuel-air explosives are capable.of completely destroying in a given
area vegetation and agricultural crops that have been planted." "In its
destructive capability, it is comparable to low-yield nuclear
munitions."(3)
Used in large numbers, fuel-air explosives and other blast weapons can
have
enormous destructive effects. When multiple FAE warheads are exploded, the
different blast waves reinforce each other, increasing their destructive
power.(4) The effect of blast weapons is also compounded in buildings and
other enclosed spaces, and is twelve to sixteen times more destructive
than
conventional high explosives against targets with large surface areas,
such
as frame buildings, bunkers, and vehicle shelters.(5)
Because FAEs cover a wide area, they are prone to indiscriminate use,
especially in or near populated areas. Since this weapon is very effective
against personnel in fortifications, bunkers, and other buildings, Russian
forces may be tempted to use them in towns and cities where Chechen
fighters
are dug in. In urban settings it will be impossible for the Russians
military to limit the destructive effect of this weapon to combatants and
very difficult for civilians to take shelter from the FAE's effect.
[snip]
Rest of article at http://www.hrw.org/press/2000/02/chech0215b.htm
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