THE STORM: special forces charge into the theater
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Putin's fear, of course, is that some of Barayev's comrades remain at large in Moscow, plotting the next attack. Discussing the hostage seizure soon after it started, one Chechen who knew Barayev well and shares many of his views predicted the outcome: Barayev would die, there would be a wave of revulsion in the West and a crackdown on the thousands of Chechens who live in Russia. "But we don't care," he added. Chechnya has been abandoned by the West, he explained; the outside world is irrelevant: "Any Russian who pays taxes and is silent over the war" is a legitimate target.
Young men and women such as these have the means, the ability and the will to attack again. They share with Barayev and his followers a very Chechen approach to the war. They are fighting not only for independence, but also because they feel there is no other way out. The attack on the theater had all the hallmarks of a typical Chechen operation: daring, ruthlessness, ambition and total lack of an exit stategy.
An exit strategy is something Putin conspicuously lacks too. After the euphoria surrounding this victory subsides, he faces the same problems that have beset his Chechnya policy since its inception: a demoralized and corrupt Russian military and the suicidal determination of the Chechens to win independence.