Topic: 2010 Moscow metro bombings
The Moscow Metro bombings of March 29, 2010, were suicide bombings which were carried out by two women, at the two stations called Lubyanka and Park Kultury. The bombings occurred with a 40 minute interval between them. About 40 people were killed and over a 100 were injured. The investigation indicated that the bombings were prepared by the Islamist Chechen separatists of the Caucasus Emirate. The attack proves to be the deadliest and most sophisticated terrorist act after 6 years of silence. On 31st of March the Chechen rebel leader Doku Umarov had approved his responsibility for ordering the attacks. A video was released, where he stated that the such attacks in Russia would continue.

Article 1
Moscow remains insecure after ten years of fighting terrorism in North Caucasus
http://www.jamestown.org/programs/ncw/single/?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=36210&tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=24&cHash=e22cf4f230

The article discusses the fact that the Russian TV channels delayed the news about the bombings in Moscow for one or two hours after the attack. This shows that the government was surprised and did not know how to respond for some time. The article claims that Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin returned to the same language as before. He used his famous expression “kill the terrorists in the toilet”. President Dmitry Medvedev had promised to eradicate the terrorists. The article argues that little has been offered so far to improve the safety of Moscow’s inhabitants, apart from rhetoric. If the Russian security services adopt the usual way of reacting to terrorist attacks, more suspected insurgents are likely to be killed in North Caucasus in the next few weeks. The article states that both Russian leaders, President Medvedev and Prime Minister Putin, came to such measures as execution in order to deal with terrorism. So they rarely arrest suspects in the North Caucasus, preferring to kill them. The article refers to the Russian way of dealing with terrorism in such a way as “failed practices”. It concludes that the bomb attack was the second deadliest attack on the Moscow metro in its entire history. Even though the principal leaders of the insurgency in the North Caucasus had been killed,the only one left is Doku Umarov. In one of his latest statements he threatened to take the war to Russian cities.

Article 2
Middle East
Moscow metro blasts kill dozen
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2010/03/201032943641817269.html

The article states that Moscow`s chief prosecutor said that the suicide bombers had been wearing explosive belts. He told the reporters that the belts with explosive devices were attached to their bodies. A Russian expert at the London University said that the violence spread throughout the North Caucasus involves 200 activists, who are a problem for Russian and they are targeting them. The article also supports the argument that Russia is using brutal methods that antagonize the local population. A 19 year old student, Valentin Popov, travelling on the train to Park Kultury, said "Everyone was screaming. There was a stampede at the doors. I saw one woman holding a child and pleading with people to let her through, but it was impossible." The attack was seen as politically motivated, targeting the most symbolic signs of Russian authority in the capital when thousands of people were using the metro. The article also talks about the security methods Russia is prepared to use. The Russian civil aviation authorities had already ordered increased security airports, after the attack. A Russian political and security analyst, Alexander Pikayev explained that the conflict with the Chechen separatists is still unresolved.

Article 3
Attacks on Moscow Metro
Germany
http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,686283,00.html

The article provides general statistics and information about the incident and the extremist group responsible for it. The article talks about how the attacks were perceived by the leaders around the world. President Barack Obama stated that "The American people stand united with the people of Russia in opposition to violent extremism and heinous terrorist attacks that demonstrate such disregard for human life, and we condemn these outrageous acts.” The European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said: "We cannot allow violence to prevail over freedom and democracy." NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, said: "There can be no justification for these kinds of attacks on innocent civilians. NATO remains committed to cooperating with Russia in the fight against international terrorism." The article contains some additional information of what happened after the attack. The Moscow police had blocked the cell phone frequencies, in case another attack was planned and so that way they could prevent the explosion by mobile phone. In the end it gives some historical observance of the attacks in Moscow’s subway that happened in 2001,1998, 1996.

Reflection/Analysis

The first article taken from a Caucasus information source was interesting to read. The article is written by a Russian reviewer and provides a more or less fair analysis of the situation. Although I do not fully agree that Russia’s position is incorrect and they should avoid execution in all cases. As another future revenge might be caused due to other executions, that way it is always possible to cling to any execution that presumably affected the leader of the terrorist organization. Or considering the possibility of an arrest, after their release, the terrorist might not learn their lesson. As well as they might still seek for revenge and create other terrorist attacks. The article taken from the Middle East article is more informative, but it also does not provide accurate statistics in comparison with the other sources. The third article taken from a German source is useful as it provides the reaction of international authorities and additional information after the attack.
In my opinion the attacks that happened in Moscow’s subway are terrible and seem immoral. I think that terrorism in general is a very psychopathic concept and the leaders of terrorist organizations are mentally ill people. Of course, who have the right manipulative skills to drag weaker people in the line of terrorism. Apart from the fact that in Caucasus the Islamist religion is fairly extremist, the leaders of those organizations also use a variety of methods to convince simple people that terrorism is a good mechanism for revenge. They are likely to supply them with appropriate drugs, brainwashing music and strong persuasion. All these methods are used for the members of those organizations to lose their conscious perception and step beyond any morals. As a result they become completely aggressive and believe that the terrorist attack would be necessary to accomplish and it is worth losing one’s life in the name of revenge. I think that the government certainly needs to enhance the security system in the public places and create a better public awareness of any possible threat.