One of the most striking actions of the past few days has been the almost-total silence of the American media on the horrific massacre in Beslan, where over 350 people died, mostly children. Mainstream news media outlets have covered this story only in the most superficial manner; they gave much higher prominence, for instance, to the hurricanes in Florida, which killed 17 and did billions of dollars in damage. The biggest outlets that arguably could commit the most resources to the story have instead glossed over the atrocities committed by the Islamist terrorists, preferring to present the nuances of Russian politics rather than a true picture of the animalistic nature of the Beslan mass murderers.

For instance, in today's coverage -- mere days after the slaughter of the children in Beslan -- the New York Times prefers to review the anger of the victims' families and its potential political impact on Vladimir Putin's career. In fact, Seth Mydans and C. J. Chivers postulate that the bombs went off by accident, rather than credit the cruel motives of the Islamists who forced hundreds of children to sit next to the explosives. The Washington Post waxes poetic with its headline, "The Sky Is Crying," but fails to explain the sadistic methods the terrorists used in subduing and abusing their child-hostages. The Los Angeles Times has several stories readily accessible from their site on the "siege", but again chooses to focus on the Russian response to the terrorists and the hypothesis that the initial explosions were an accident, this time blaming the children for accidentally pulling a wire.

The American media lions all fail to provide the coverage that the foreign press give their readers, who have been aghast at the inhumanity of the Islamist captors. The London Telegraph has provided the clear look at the evil and twisted nature of the lunatics who wanted to "set fire to the Caucasus" to ignite a holy war throughout Asia.

Here is what the American media doesn't want to share with its readership:

"On the first day, the terrorists brought some buckets of water, but then nothing. Nothing to eat or drink. They moved the mothers and small babies upstairs because they said the crying irritated them." ...

"A young child, just a toddler, was crying. His mother was inside and crying out her son's name. But they wouldn't let her come out to him. The man was hysterical. He shouted to stop crying or he would shoot. I could hear him slapping the child. Just the sound - I couldn't see." ...

"The man went crazy, he hit me and tugged the top off the tap so I couldn't drink any more. All around me, people were taking off clothes, peeing on them and trying to suck off the urine. Little children were tearing off the leaves of plants and eating them - they were so hungry.

"One little boy, about seven, stood naked with urine running down his leg. He was stuffing rose petals into his bleeding mouth from one of the bouquets the children had brought for the teachers. He was shouting, 'Mama!' She couldn't hear him. She was dead." ...

"Some people said that the older girls who were dragged into another room were being raped. We could hear cries, but then, so many were screaming and crying, that it was impossible to know." ...

One 15-year-old boy spoke of how the older boys and men were separated and given "chores". "We had to gather the bodies of those who had died when they took the school and throw them out of the windows. Then they wanted us to board them up.

"I carried the body of a little girl and threw it out of the window," he said, tears rolling down his cheeks.

Why don't the American media want their readers to hear the entire story? Because it would remind us that we are at war with Islamist lunatics, and that their reach is global. This story drives home the utter depravity of our enemies, the senseless and sadistic nature of a subculture that has no regard for human life or dignity, who will stop at nothing to get what they desire most -- the power of life and death over as many people as possible.

It is not possible to negotiate with such animals. It is not possible to beat them by waging a "sensitive" war. Old friendships that stand in the way of exterminating these people before they exterminate us are not worthy of consideration. And the mainstream media know this -- and so hide it from you in order to lull you into thinking that this is just another stunt gone awry, that Russia somehow deserved this, that it was just an accident that it actually resulted in deaths.

If that litany sounds familiar, it should; we Americans heard it after 9/11. It's as false now as it was then. Whatever Russia has done in Chechnya, nothing justifies the torture and slaughter of Beslan's children -- nothing.

Like it or not, our generation has been presented with a choice: stand up to the animals who would either enslave or slaughter us, or meekly be led to our own abattoirs. That's what the media desperately downplays, to our peril.

UPDATE: Pennywit adds his thoughts, from a different perspective.

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» Russian School Hostage Video from mypetjawa v. 2.0 (beta)
Chad over at In the Bullpen alerted me to the fact that the Chechen terrorists made a video tape of themselves while they were busy massacring children. The Chechen terrorists in Beslan, North Ossetia seem to be following the lead... [Read More]

Tracked on September 7, 2004 9:00 PM

» They Shoot Children, Don't They? from Ed Driscoll.com
Powerful essay by Dennis Prager on the Beslan atrocity. Several others can be found via these links. Update: The late Yanis Kanidis, hero. (Also via Charles Johnson.) Update: The New York Times deliberately alters a quote from the event to... [Read More]

Tracked on September 7, 2004 9:47 PM

» The Story of a Hero and the question of whether we from The Pink Flamingo Bar Grill
What exactly is it going to take to get us up off of our asses to start killing the barbarians who perpetuate this sort of mass murder? Knocking down 2 buildings killing 3,000 people wasn't enough, murdering innocents in a night club wasn't enough, b... [Read More]

Tracked on September 7, 2004 11:43 PM

» Tears from Pinwheels and Orange Peels
First the US. Then Australia, Spain, and now Russia. Islamic militants care nothing for the lives of non-Muslims. Yet the press, US and European, has largely ignored or downplayed the horrific trajedy in Beslan. Too many innocents. So Russia is [Read More]

Tracked on September 8, 2004 8:04 AM

» No horror movie could compare from Secure Liberty
The atrocities in Beslan have not received adequate coverage, that much is clear. We heard about Abu Gharib for months. That was a pajama party compared to the digusting, cruel and incomprehensible evil perpetrated upon children and their parents in ... [Read More]

Tracked on September 8, 2004 9:58 AM

» Round-up from Lead and Gold
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Tracked on September 8, 2004 10:25 AM

» The Silence Of The Lions from In Bill's World
(CQ excerpt) ... Read. Learn about The Religion of Peace. ... Why didn't this get more coverage in the mainstream media? Because they don't want you to realize your child's school could be next. If you realize that, ... [Read More]

Tracked on September 8, 2004 4:12 PM