Heart-rending tragedy in Russia

The sight of children fleeing for their lives after having spent more than 2 days under tortuous conditions imposed by inhuman captors caused much sorrow. What crime had these children and their parents done ?  Why must they pay for the attitude that Russia has towards Chechnya ?  If the terrorists were Chechnyans, surely there must be something that they, on their side, have sufferred -- something that turned them into monsters.  These creatures had no excuses.  Such terrorists deserve the swiftest and fullest punishment.  What would turn human beings into such manifestations of evil ?  Is Putin's strategy of force the right thing in Chechnya ?  If the hostage takers were not really Chechnyans but "foreign terrorists", then their base must be struck.  We need not even stop to think about why they would have turned into monsters.  Foreign terrorists are pure, black, evil and must be wiped out.   Their supporters must be brought to justice [yes, I am using Bush's phrase here].

What must the world do to prevent a repeat of such acts ?  Forceful occupation and military action in Chechnya will NOT prevent a recurrence of terror and death.  Any occupying force ruling over a people against the people's will has no authority over them.  International law must be brought into play or modified to prevent forceful occupation of a foreign state.

However, as ordinary citizens all of us also have another duty -- to teach the new generation that terrorism, arms, weapons, force and death are as evil as the greatest possible evil.  Parents, teachers, religious leaders/educators, the media and leaders in authority must make the young aware of what terrorism really does to humans.  It would require a global and continous campaign -- not unlike that by parents and teachers who teach children to wash their hands with soap because, otherwise, germs can make them ill.  As cleanliness is taught, so must goodliness.  The message that force and violence are unacceptable not only because they are "bad" but because they actually cause great hurt and grief must be reiterated at every possible opportunity.  It may hurt many people, many find the idea offensive, but the story of this school tragedy needs to be kept alive and retold to all -- as are the stories of those that Lord Vishnu had to vanquish, as are the stories of the suffering Jesus had to undergo, as are the stories of Abraham Lincoln, as are all those stories of good and evil in many languages.