Mission Creep: Defining Terrorism.

• Author: Rimensnyder, Sara
• Position: Citings - Russia's war on Chechnya - Brief Article

AS THE U.S. government moves past the Afghan stage of the War on Terrorism, it will need to choose its battles cautiously. Various countries are likely to invoke the new global mandate against terror to justify egregious and unwarranted violations of human rights.

Underlining this point was Barbara Walters' November interview of Russian president and former KGB spook Vladimir Putin on ABC's 20/20. One remark, regarding Putin's reaction to the September attack, made headlines: "We had talked about the possible threats to the United States, to other countries, but were not able to determine who, where, and how they could strike. And this was the first feeling I had, the feeling of anger and, to some extent, the feeling of guilt."

No headline mentioned that, in context, it was quite clear that Putin didn't feel guilty. He felt smug. His claim of remorse was actually an admonishment. This became clear when, right on cue, Walters noted that Putin had warned then-President Clinton about bin Laden but was ignored. "Even at that time we certainly were counting on more active cooperation in combating terrorism," Putin responded.

More specifically, Putin was counting on more active...