Russian 9/11

340 dead. 155 of them children. Don't think for a second that this is not capable of steeling Russian resolve against the Chechnyans.

"Fathers will bury their children, and after 40 days (the Orthodox Christian mourning period) ... they will take up weapons and seek revenge," said Alan Kargiyev, a 20-year-old university student in the regional capital Vladikavkaz.

Scenes such as this leave you indifferent to the news that all the terrorists have been killed:

Alla Gadieyeva, a 24-year-old hostage who was seized with her son and mother — all three were among the survivors — said the captors laughed when she asked them for water for her mother.

"When children began to faint, they laughed," Gadieyeva said. "They were totally indifferent."