Isa Musayev and other Muslim fighters in Ukraine in January. Mr. Musayev helped found the Chechen battalions and was killed in February, another leader said. Credit Tomasz Glowacki
New York Times: Islamic Battalions, Stocked With Chechens, Aid Ukraine in War With Rebels
MARIUPOL, Ukraine — Wearing camouflage, with a bushy salt-and-pepper beard flowing over his chest and a bowie knife sheathed prominently in his belt, the man cut a fearsome figure in the nearly empty restaurant. Waiters hovered apprehensively near the kitchen, and try as he might, the man who calls himself “Muslim,” a former Chechen warlord, could not wave them over for more tea.
Even for Ukrainians hardened by more than a year of war here against Russian-backed separatists, the appearance of Islamic combatants, mostly Chechens, in towns near the front lines comes as something of a surprise — and for many of the Ukrainians, a welcome one.
“We like to fight the Russians,” said the Chechen, who refused to give his real name. “We always fight the Russians.”
He commands one of three volunteer Islamic battalions out of about 30 volunteer units in total fighting now in eastern Ukraine. The Islamic battalions are deployed to the hottest zones, which is why the Chechen was here.
WNU Editor: The enemy of my enemy is my friend .... unfortunately for Ukraine .... these Chechens are not exactly the people that you want to be associated with. Many of them are wanted men in the Caucasus for war and terrorism crimes, and coupled with their radical Islamic beliefs and hostility towards Russia will all but guarantee that wherever they are deployed the fighting will only escalate and any hope of a peaceful resolution will all but disappear. But .... with many Ukrainians now openly reluctant and/or hostile to participating in the war in the east, the Ukraine government has made the decision to welcome these soldiers as well as permitting the establishment of far-right militias. My prediction .... this is going to bite Ukraine in the end.
WNU Editor,
ReplyDeleteyou call these Muslim fighters terrorist but all they were doing is fighting for they freedom from Russia. In this case you should be using term terrorist on all Russian fighters in Donbas. Typical Russian hypocrisy...
This is all the more reason for the US to withdraw all support from Ukraine. Whether or not they are fighting for "freedom from Russia" or "Islam" seems unclear at best. Perhaps they are fighting for both. Not all versions of "Islam" are as the kinds supported by ISIS, Al Qaeda, most Gulf Arab Sates, and Iran's Shia version of Islam. As such, they fact that they may be fighting for "Islam" does not in and of itself make them a threat to America.
ReplyDeleteWith that said it does raise significant doubts about the wisdom of involvement in Ukraine, as if there were not enough already. Now if the Chechen version of "Islam" is comparable to that of ISIS, then not only should we not be associated with Ukraine but we should be looking at any and all avenues that might be available to help Russia win this fight against Ukraine. With that said, Russia's military forces are the best on earth. At the least, they are every bit on the level of America's, they are fighting close to home, they are highly motivated, and extremely well led. As such, they are plenty capable of taking care of the Chechens without us regardless of what Chechen intentions are.
Our best approach is to extricate ourselves from this by any and all means necessary. Involvement in this on the side of Ukraine has no upside potential for us and has huge downside potential for us. Extricating ourselves is a no brainer in this instance.
I agree with your prediction WNU about this coming back to bite Ukraine. What a monumentally stupid decision on the part of the Ukrainian government here.
They were fighting for the independence of Chechnya, under the rule of their bosses and the Sharia. Whether that constitutes "freedom" or "Islam" is an academical question; it's still reason enough for even the most fair-minded Russian government imaginable, let alone the one we actually have, to fight them (as far from everyone in Chechnya would enjoy being put under their rule) and for America to be wary of helping them.
ReplyDelete