RT TV is getting better and better, mostly thanks to the truly excellent reporters they hire. And no, I don’t mean Larry King (Larry King Now), though hiring him was a nice PR coup, but rather folks like Peter Lavelle (Cross Talk) and Abby Martin (Breaking the Set) who talk to the right people and ask the right questions. This time, I want to draw your attention to a most interesting interview of Reni Manukian, the wife of Ibragim Todashev, the Chechen young man recently murdered by three FBI agents in Orlando Florida (usually I would put a link to the Wikipedia article about Todashev here, but in this case the article is so full of lies and crude propaganda that I will use the “least bad” English source I could find, the Orlando Sentinel). First, listen to that most interesting interview:
Amazing, no? There are all the signs of a (botched!) cover-up and practically nobody cares (except the ACLU). Why? Is it because it is “well-known” that “all Chechens are terrorists”?
In fact, the case of the Tsarnaev brothers and Todashev could not be more different. If the Tsarnaev brother had, indeed, been flagged by the Russian security services as linked to Islamist terrorist groups, the Todashev family is well-known in Grozny and several of its members are public officials. In fact, the Todashev family was anything but linked to any terrorist groups. So what happened?
Here is my personal guess:
Both the Tsarnaev brothers and Todashev were involved in mixed martial arts. For Chechens, this is about as original, as playing basket-ball for Americans. This is not some sign of some “aggressive disposition” or an indicator that one is about to become a terrorist. The Caucasus has a long and proud tradition of marital arts (mostly wrestling, but also Russian Sambo) and training in an MMA gym is basically a manly way to say fit.
It appears that Todashev met Tsarnaev at a gym in Boston and that the two became not friends, but acquaintances. Again, this is hardly surprising, MMA fighters are mostly friendly people and two exiled Chechens would easily spot each other and exchange a few nice words. I would argue that the fact that Todashev and Tsarnaev clearly came from two opposite sides of the Chechen ideological divide would indicate that they probably never had any serious conversations, much less so about politics.
Then there are the accusations that Todashev was a violent character because in a road-rage incident he was heard screaming “‘You say something about my mother, I will kill you!'” and because he got into a fight with two men over a parking space.
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| Reni Manukian and Ibragim Todashev before their marriage |
Let me break you the news: you do not tell any man from the Caucasus that he is a “motherfucker”, that *can* get you killed. This does not at all mean that the Caucasian men is particularly violent, it just means that for the people of the Caucasus mothers and motherhood are sacred. Of course, in a society where nothing at all is sacred, the very concept of “sacred” is hard to comprehend. As for the second incident, it just goes to show that a Chechen young man will not hesitate to fight against two other guys. So what?! These are *Chechens* for heaven’s sake! Not only to they take some insults very seriously, they also consider it an absolute dishonor to run away even if the other side has the advantage in numbers. In my opinion, these incidents show nothing besides maybe a lack of cultural understanding on the part of Todashev: somebody should have explained to him that Americans can spend 20 minutes screaming “fuck you motherfucker!!” at each other – practically nose to nose – without exchanging a single blow.
So what happened with the FBI agents?
I suspect something similar. The agents probably showed up full of themselves, aggressive, filled to the brim with unspent testosterone. It is most likely that these boneheads believed that “Chechens are terrorists” and that they did not like Todashev one bit. Why? Because being a Chechen Todashev probably did not show them the typical submissive and demure attitude these FBI agents are used to get from their compatriots. He probably denied knowing anything and when they “put on the pressure” as they are used to, he probably showed them a great deal of disrespect. At which point one of the agents apparently decided to punch him which, instead of terrifying Todashev, probably resulted in him immediately striking back after which the terrified FBI agents all pulled their guns and shot Todashev in a mix of terror and outrage at his insubordination.
What about Todashev’s knee? Could he have punched an FBI agent even though he was absolutely sure that with his sick knee he would never overpower three FBI agents? Of course! The condition of his knee does prove that his body was no “deadly weapon” but it most definitely does not prove that Todashev would not fight back if punched. Again, this guy is Chechen and it is very much in the Chechen national culture and ethos not to accept violence or abuse without fighting back. A man’s honor means much more to them than the consequences of getting beat up or even killed.
I see no signs of a big mystery or conspiracy around Todashev’s death. What we have is an example of what happens when poorly educated and boneheaded FBI thugs are trusted with a mission requiring not machismo or intimidation, but a basic understanding of the culture of the subject to be interviewed. All the rest is just a typical case of American SNAFU/FUBAR featuring a clumsy cover-up and a constantly changing official narrative.
This is still an absolutely unacceptable outrage: an innocent man was murdered by FBI officials because of his ethnicity and their lack of culture. Even if every single word I have written above is 100% wrong, the fact remains that the official narrative admits that three (or more?) specially trained FBI agents for the Counter-Terrorism division could not handle a single limping young man and had to shoot him seven times to subdue him. This is absolutely and self-evidently ridiculous. I am happy to see that the mostly “sleepy” ACLU has finally decided to take on this case and demand some answers. Let’s just hope that the ACLU and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) will have the staying power to demand a full investigation and that they will not be bullied by Uncle Sam into giving up.
The Saker
For a bit of context about the Chechens
http://cluborlov.blogspot.com.ar/2013/04/meet-chechens.html
@Anonymous: there is really much truth to this interesting text you quoted. For example this sentence: He told me about adats (Chechen tribal customs) and about the upbringing which turns Chechen boys into warriors. He told me that we Russians are faggots who forgot their roots, stopped listening to their elders, turned into alcoholics, degenerated into a herd of cattle and stopped being a people. There is absolutely no denying that this is an apt description of a good part of the modern Russian youth. Same for this sentence: And the only reason they succeeded in doing so is because we were total shit. We are still shit, but not quite so liquid, and in that shit there are some steel particles. What happened since between 1991 and, say, 2000 is that a lot of these steel particles slowly began to coalesce together, especially after Putin came to power. The first clear sign of that began when the Chechen Mafia realized that there was a far more powerful “Mafia” (so to speak) out there: the FSB which began a real hunt for the entire Chechen leadership, and I am not only referring to the Chechen insurgents here, but also to the Chechen Mafia bosses. And here is the funny thing: when Chechen violence is met with equal, or even more ruthless Russian violence, the Chechens caved in rather rapidly. But to obtain that result you must absolutely convince them that you are far more ruthless than they are. By 1999-2000 the Russian were pretty much ready to “nuke” Chechnya (well, not literally, of course, but with literally the same firepower) and as soon as is became clear to the Chechens that folks like Putin or Shamanov can be every bit as ruthless as the most ruthless Chechen commanders they surrendered, rather rapidy in fact. Every single military commander who fought in Chechnia will attest to the fact that Chechens only respect force. They might hate you for it, but they will not despise you for it. Show weakness, and you are looked at as subhuman, literally.
The sentence They are first-class predators, and as a result of their mission of cultural enlightenment Russian cattle is once again becoming a people is a cruel one, both for Chechens and Russians. It also happens to be true. The horrors of the war in Chechnia is literally what “gave birth” to the modern Russia. In a paradoxical way, Putin is a product of Dudaev. Put differently, Russian passivity and herd mentality could put up with Eltsin, the Jewish oligarchs and their pillaging of Russia, but when the Russians saw what the Chechens did they really had a (much delayed but much needed) “enough is enough” reaction. Something similar happend in 2008 when the Georgians attacked Russian peacekeepers.
Historically the “Russian Bear” has always suffered from a bizarre form of lethargy often bordering on a form of coma, and it always took A LOT of pain to wake this Bear up, but once the Bear was fully awake and truly deeply pissed, it turned into an amazing fighiting machine.
Anyways, just a few thoughts I wanted to share after reading this painful but truthful article.
Thanks,
The Saker
@Anonymous: I just remembered one more example which illustrates the Chechen mentality and attitude towards Russian Federal Forces: they typically referred to the Internal Affairs Ministry forces as “dogs” (собаки). Why? Because they knew that they could bribe them, that they could buy weapons from them, because they did neither fear nor respect them. The Russian paratroopers (Airborne Forces) they called “Goblins” (гоблины). They absolutely hated them, but they also knew that they could neither bribe nor intimidate them. They hated them, but they did recognize the true warrior spirit of the Airborne Troops. They were correct. In 2000 a force of only 91 Airborne Troops was attacked by over 2000 of the best Chechen forces lead by Khattab himself at the famous battle of Hill 776 which saw the 6th Airborne Company fight the Chechens for 4 days. Of the 91 Russians only 6 survived. The Company Commander’s last radio message was to call for an artillery strike on his own position. The Chechens eventually took Hill 776, but at a huge price (many hundreds of Chechens died) and too late to escape: they retreated down into the valley in small groups and were eventually killed and captured. Physically, the Russians lost this battle, but psychologically they won by defeating the insurgents morally. Soon after the insurgency crumbled because it realized that it was faced with a different kind of enemy, one which they could never defeat.
There is a special kind of dogs in Russia called a “Volkodav” or – literally, a “wolf strangler”. They can be from different breeds, but they are all trained to kill wolves.
The Chechens in the insurgency used to have a wolf on their flag as a symbol of power and ferocity. When the Russian Spetsnaz GRU forces were used in Chechnia they soon began to be called “wolf stranglers” (Волкодавы) because they took great pride in the fact that they were specialized in destroying the most dangerous Chechen groups. By all accounts, the Chechens were terrified of the “wolf stranglers” which would typically strike at night, deep inside Chechen territory, leave nobody alive and then disappear.
So there you have it: the “dogs” were despised by the Chechens, the “Goblins” were hated but respected, and the “wolf stranglers” terrified them.
Nowadays, the Chechens are proud of their own Special Forces battalions which fought great courage and expertise in many battles, including against the Georgians in 2008. The Georgians were so afraid of them that as soon as they were rumored to be near, they droppped their weapons and ran.
We have come a full circle now: the GRU now has Chechen units which it can use not only in the Caucasus, but even abroad (they were used in Lebanon). If Russia ever sends a peacekeeping force to the Golan Heights or elsewhere in Syria, it will most likely include a very substantial Chechen component.
Amazing, no?
Same thing happened to Jesse Trentadue, a man who was killed in FBI custody after being mistakenly swept up as a suspect in the OKC terror attack. Trentadue was innocent, but matched the description of a suspect.
Let this be a reminder. Never, ever talk to these people without a lawyer present.
What’s really disturbing is the complete complacency of our media. These deaths are extremely suspicious & the msm just goes along with anything the authorities say. Even if the authorities change their account half a dozen times, the media just accepts whatever they are told. It’s scary.
@Anonymous:Same thing happened to Jesse Trentadue
Yes! Excellent point, thanks for reminding me of this case. You are quite correct, the parallels are uncanny.
Never, ever talk to these people without a lawyer present.
Yes, except that they probably told Todashev that he was suspected of being an ‘enemy combatant’ and that he therefore did not have the right to a lawyer.
What’s really disturbing is the complete complacency of our media
Which just goes to prove that there is no independent media here, only a massive propaganda machine which would have made Hitler or Stalin green with envy.
Botton line: US citizens/residents have literally LESS rights when confronted by the FBI than Soviet citizens had when confronted by the KGB (which did have to follow Soviet laws at least during the Brezhnev era).
And then the US State Department lectures Russia about Magnitsky. Pathetic…
Saker – another great post!
This story illustrates yet another (main?) reason why The Anglo empire hates the East – a lack of sufficient subservience to money and greed (and most importantly fear). Perhaps its in the DNA of non-European populations. In essence the Anglo empire may have concluded that genetics are standing in the way of world hegemony. Nothing short of genocide or otherwise total defeat will suffice for them. Thank God that this blight seems to be running its course.
http://www.counterpunch.org/2014/05/15/new-questions-in-fbi-boston-bombing-witness-killing/
http://www.counterpunch.org/2014/04/11/government-exonerates-fbis-lax-investigation-of-suspected-boston-bomber/
http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/06/06/is-the-fbi-now-in-the-execution-business/
http://www.counterpunch.org/2014/03/28/some-serious-problems-with-the-fbis-homicide-of-a-witness-in-florida/
http://www.counterpunch.org/2014/03/26/two-lawmen-two-stories-of-a-boston-marathon-witness-killing/
http://www.counterpunch.org/2014/03/24/dark-questions-about-a-deadly-fbi-interrogation-in-orlando/
I love Counterpunch.org and the Saker’s site. !!!!!!!!!!!
Abundance and Blessings Always,
In faithful admiration of your exceptional blog.
There is too much lionizing and too little reality on the lives of these young Chechen thugs. A little $ background can be viewed; ‘https://moneyjihad.wordpress.com/2013/04/23/the-financial-affairs-of-the-tsarnaev-brothers/’
if the link don’t copy and paste. Search; ‘ tsarnaev brothers financial records’
There is so much that is not reported. Please search for yourself.
You could be right. The identity of the actual shooter has now been released and he seems like someone prone to lose control of himself. He displays a bruise on the back of his head which could be consistent with your theory. Additionally the changing story does suggest they were improvising. That would suggest a situation that unexpectedly developed, otherwise they could simply have brought a “throw down” weapon of their own to produce incrimination.
http://whowhatwhy.org/2014/05/17/todashevs-killer-no-wonder-his-identify-was-secret/
However another possibility keeps coming to mind. Todashev commented to his friend that he had a premonition the FBI would kill him. I suspect he knew he was a “loose end” that they would seek to silence.
I think Todashev and Tsarnaev traded stories relating to their ambitions and general “toughness”. That would be fairly natural as men of that age are inclined to boast. Tsarnaev would have mentioned he had connections with the FBI and that they considered him “special” in some way. We know he was being handled by the FBI and that his ego was being stroked with talk about him being a natural leader etc.
If Todashev was in position to testify to that he would be a danger to the governments narrative of the entire event.
The Boston Bombing was a complete Federal set up! As was the Christmas Bomber a complete Federal set up. Most, if not all, “Terrorist” situations, in the US including 9/11, were False Flags. Proven.
In Europe the downed passenger Boeing Malaysian plane was one too. Everybody knows this now.
Boston bombing was a complete staged event. The Tsarnaev brothers were to get the blame, and not supposed to survive. The older one was seen being taken into custody alive and well. And the younger one said he is not guilty at his trial. In stark contrast to his “lawyer” who said, my client is guilty although he says otherwise. Can you imagine. Todashev knew to much I guess so they took him out. Supposedly while being in handcuffs, with only 1 agent in the room when things went wrong. And 1 of the bullets entered via the top of his head, kill shot for sure.
Look at this deconstruction of recordings during and after the explosions and see if you still believe the official story: https://youtu.be/EN9xf0gmCHI?t=17m16s