Another Russian Calamity

Early reports out of Beslan, Russia, are grim: At least one hundred bodies have supposedly been found in the school gymnasium as the stand-off between Chechen rebels and Russian authorities comes to an end. The bloody conclusion to this conflict is all too reminiscent of the last hostage crisis at the Moscow theater in 2002, in which 129 hostages died in the aftermath of the raid by special forces. Showtime's documentary of that tragedy, Terror in the Aisles, which I reviewed for The Daily Standard, is a horrific but important look at what exactly the Russians are facing.