Pony: Terror in Moscow
10.24.2003
I saw The Passionate Eye documentary last night: Terror in Moscow, the Story of the Moscow theatre seiged by Chechen rebels.
It was the most affecting news documentary I have seen in ages.
The Russian army used a gas, circulated through the ventilation system, to make everyone pass out before they stormed the theatre. I forgot this part of the story.
They did not adequately prepare soldiers or medical personnel for its use: they had few ambulances or doctors to bring the hostages out on stretchers and not enough medics to administer the antidote. 120 people died, not because of the hostage-taking, but because the army was ill-prepared, treated the unconscious hostages like luggage, and allowed them to choke in their own vomit.
Had me in tears.
Speaking of acts of violence, what happened today with the LA bound El Al flight? It was supposed to land in Tornto, but was diverted to Mirabel due to a Severe Security Threat.
Yikes. The alert originated in Israel.
