I wouldn't underestimate the willingness of Russians to keep dying when they feel threatened.

The Russians, rightly or wrongly, see Chechnya as a part of Mother Russia. They will do whatever it takes to keep it. If a group of Hawaiian terrorists killed hundreds of people in a school in Arizona, would Americans do whatever was necessary to end the terror and keep it in the US?

While lots of folks are in a dither over Putin's comments attacking western nations for their interference in Chechnya, there's been very little comment over the agreement between Russia and Israel on an anti-terror union.

Going by that, it sounds as though Putin is seeking some IDF input on how to handle his country's terrorist problems.

John:

They're building a wall and giving in.

They are building a wall and keeping out.

Sharon is making a military decision. He is separating from Gaza and pulling out the settlement simply because there is no decent strategic or historical reason for remaining there. 'Filesteia for the Philistines.'

The security fence in Judea and Samaria is designed to keep in the bulk of the settlements. The ones on the other side will be surrendered to the savages. Sadly, that will include Hebron. But again military needs come first.

Israel is unwilling to face the international opprobrium that would result from the expulsion of the so-called Palestinians, and incorporating them into Israel will destroy the Jewish, democratic, more or less capitalist character of the State. Israel has no negotiating partner. So, it must act unilaterally to minimize its exposure to terror. A fence around the border and the larger settlements is the best idea.

Yes, they lost. So will Russia. A reasonably liberal nation can't keep an unwilling populace under its thumb.

What event in Russian history from Alexander Nevsky to Vladimir Putin has persuaded you that the Russians are either 'reasonable' or 'liberal?'

Chechnya is small, with a population equal to about 1% of the population of the rest of Russia. That is not the same as dealing with an Arab population equal to about 85% of the Jewish population of Greater Israel. Russia has wiped out bigger nations than Chechnya.

Russia doesn't give a damn about world opinion. If you ever bring up world opinion to a Russian, he will happily remind you of the victory of the Russians against the Tsarist forces and their allies from 14 nations, including the US. Russia which has plenty of food, now that collectivization is ending, and plenty of mineral wealth doesn't need trade as Israel does. Russians also see American and European hand-wringing over such matters as civilian casualties as weakness.

The elections they keep having. World opinion isn't the problem. Russian is.

OJ --

When attaks do occur in Israel, the IDF seems to have a better idea of where Arafat's soldiers, Hamas, Hezbollah are than those groups do themselves, based on the success of the missile strikes that are carried out sometimes within hours of any attack. I think Putin's talks with Israel are to see how the IDF developed their network of informants within the enemy ranks and try and employ the same system within Russia's southern borders.

OJ,

The entire criticism in Russia is that Putin is not being tough enough.