Presented, for immediate snarking:
President Vladimir Putin said Saturday that he thinks Israel is pursuing wider goals in its military campaign than the return of abducted soldiers.
“However complicated the questions are, maximum efforts must be applied to resolve the situation in a peaceful way and I think all efforts have not been exhausted,” Putin said. “However, it is our impression that aside from seeking to return the abducted soldiers, Israel is pursuing wider goals.”
Gee. Ya think?
And trying to eliminate a terrorist infrastructure that has been murdering and attacking your citizens for years is not a good thing because…?
Wow. Can he get any stupider on this topic? Snoopy? What do you think—you know Russians.
I wonder whether Putin and the RF are pursuing “wider goals” than merely knocking of Shamil Basaev in Chechnya? For that butcher–who mercilessly shelled Grozny and all its inhabitants, and whose campaign of terror and barbarism in the Caucusus is one of the great ongoing atrocities of the modern world–to opine about proportionality and suchlike, it’s enough to make your stomach turn.
What a smart man.
I don’t rightly know what the man means. Take, for instance, Volga – why should one need or desire it – long, dirty and polluted beyond repair. Third rate real estate the place is, mark my words…
“eliminate a terrorist infrastructure” – that indeed seems to mean killing hundreds of innocent men, women and children.
Shamil Basaev or what’s his name, well, you fail to mention what russia did to him and his family before he turned into a “butcher” e.g. the killed his whole family etc.