Ethics at work.
Or not.
At least 39 people were killed and scores wounded in two suicide bombings in Moscow. President Dmitry Medvedev said, “We will continue the fight against terrorism unswervingly and to the end.”
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin went one step further, saying the “terrorists will be destroyed.”
US President Barack Obama, for his part, condemned the incident as a “heinous terrorist attack” and assured Russia that Americans “condemn these outrageous acts”.
No shortage of the “T”-word.
Despite the outrage, it is to be hoped that both Obama and the UN will also remember to condemn Russia for its long-standing provocations of the alleged perpetrators, the valiant freedom fighters of Chechnya, and will furthermore urge the Russians to show restraint. One useful term the US president and the UN Security Council might wish to employ in the subsequent UNSC debate on Russia’s treatment of Chechnya is “proportionate response.”
And should Russia overstep the mark, Justice Richard Goldstone can be quickly called upon to author an objective and thorough report.
He already has the template ready.