What is to be done?

The seizing of the school in Beslan, Northern Ossetia, in Russia and the subsequent tragedy there has, I am sure, touched all feeling people. Where can we send words of consolation? How can we help? What can be done?

As to the first question, I don’t honestly know the answer. I’ll do a little checking and see if I can find an answer. As to the second, I only have a few small answers. Donations to the Red Cross/Red Crescent are always helpful. Another good possibility is Command Post’s Strengthen the Good. UPDATE: Stan from Logic & Sanity has suggested this as an alternative for those who want to help the people in Beslan. UPDATE: Condolences may be sent to the Russian embassy.

The bulk of this post will be concerned with addressing the final question: what is to be done?

First, a little background. For information on Chechnya see here. For a brief survey of Chechen history go here. For a sketch of recent Chechen history go here. The best resource for up-to-the-minute information on the current situation in Beslan is Stan at Logic & Sanity. Stan draws our attention to this article for background information on the development of jihad in Chechnya.

There has been conflict between the Chechens and Russians since the 16th century and there has never been any extended period since then during which this has not been the case. The Chechens have endured almost unbelievable privations at the hands of the Russians. From 1943 to 1957 under Stalin (and for four years after his death) the entire population was forcibly removed from Chechnya to Kazakhstan. This is living memory.

Russia is reluctant to allow an independent Russian state. In my opinion this is understandable. States are naturally resistant to the idea of pieces of them drifting off. The Russians are actually going through a period of USSR nostalgia and are more acquisition-minded than supportive of secession. And Chechnya has oil. The oil industry is nearly the only functional component of the Chechen economy.

Putin’s immediate reaction—a crackdown—is understandable, and no doubt popular, but probably counter-productive. Russia needs to find a formula or process with specific, achievable goals for substantial Chechen autonomy within the Russian Federation.

The preachers of jihad must be rooted out and expelled. This is a pragmatic necessity. Doing this without molesting peaceful Muslim missionaries will be challenging and I wouldn’t be surprised if there were not a substantial error in the direction of prudence. Armed Liberal at Winds of Change has characterized the worldwide conflict against terroristm as, at least in part, a War on Bad Philosophy. A vacuum of belief should not be encouraged. Orthodox and other Christian missionaries and Central Asian Sufi missionaries should be encouraged to fill the vacuum.

Finally, the needs of the Chechen people should not be ignored. So far Russian efforts at reconstruction in Chechnya have predictably been macro-solutions and, also predictably, have been subject to massive waste, fraud, and abuse. Little of the money has been used as intended.

As an alternative I suggest a small-scale, local approach like the MicroLoan program. This aid should be personal and channeled through the missionaries I talked about above.

In the comments section of a related post on Obsidian Wings, one of the commenters made a really splendid suggestion:

We should present a plan to Russia. The plan involves U.S. technical, diplomatic, political and whatever other sort of assistance is required against the Chechnyans, while the Russians provide technical, military, diplomatic, and political assistance, including pressure on Arab states, in Iraq. We don’t present it as a quid pro quo–just as a package of actions that need to work together to compliment each other.

We can offer to explicitly, publicly, and consistently say that Russia’s joining of the effort in Iraq is not an endorsement of the original invasion, but rather a recognition that all peaceful and law-abiding powers must work together to combat the possibility that Iraq could become a breeding ground for terrorism.

Russia is over a barrel–they are in big trouble and need all the help they can get. Meanwhile, we need some help, too, some help that they can provide. Let’s start up ap mutual back-scratching society.

Add to that suggestion not merely aid against the Chechens but aid for the Chechens to give them something to live for rather than just something to die for and you’ve got the makings of something.

The growth of terrorism in Chechnya does not help us but the growth of autocracy in Russia doesn’t either. We need to seize this opportunity not only to encourage constructive engagement between Russians and Chechens but between Russia and the United States.