Spetsnaz

Oleg Gordievsky who was the "highest ranking KGB officer ever to work for MI6" has an opinion piece in the Telegraph with some thoughts on the "Spetsnaz" or Russian Special Forces today. Though I do not agree with all of Mr. Gordievsky’s conclusions, I think it is worth noting his opinion on the Spetsnaz:

"The Russian "Spetsnaz", or Special Forces, who surrounded the school and who were in charge of containing the hostage crisis and bringing it to an end, have a reputation for fearsome, if brutal, efficiency. That reputation helps to sustain the belief, at least in the West, that there was very little that could have been done to prevent this disastrous outcome.

This is simply not true. Only part of the Spetsnaz's reputation is justified. They are certainly brutal. But they are not efficient, and never have been - even in the old days of the Cold War, when they were well financed."

Some general observations I made while watching the hostage taking unfold was that the perimeter did not appear to be effectively established or patrolled. Soldiers were grouping together and socializing. Why were civilians allowed to be so close to the school? Watching CNN I saw a civilian shot in the crossfire and he was behind the barricade. Where were the ambulances or fire trucks?

Many of the soldiers were not wearing helmets or protected vests, the uniforms were a mix and mash of this and that. I saw a sniper dressed in jeans and a t-shirt and running shoes…I first thought he was an armed civilian but reading the Reuters caption it said he was a Russian Army Sniper! I watched with a growing sense of the incredulousness when a Russian soldier was running back to the barricades under fire carrying a wounded child in his arms with a cigarette dangling out of his mouth. These were not the Marines.

"Russia's army and its security forces aim to inculcate an attitude of total indifference to the loss of human life, and they certainly succeeded in the case of Vladimir Putin. For example, for at least as long as he has been president, the Russian press has published stories about the more than 1,000 Russian army conscripts - they are teenage boys - who are killed every year during training, often as a result of being viciously bullied by other soldiers."

I have read many of those stories Mr. Gordievsky alludes too concerning the state of morale in Russia’s forces and it certainly appears to be the case of survival of the most ruthless and vicious. Promotion relies on a soldier’s ability to thug it out rather than be an effective fighting team leader. This gives new meaning to an "Army of One."

During the 1994-1996 engagement in Chechnya, Russian officers were selling arms, explosives and equipment to Chechen rebels by day and then sending their men in by night to fight against those same rebels armed courtesy of Russian officers.

I have no doubt that the Breslan School Hostage-taking would end in bloodshed but it becomes a question of "how many" rather than there being a peaceful conclusion to the siege. In the age of terror globalization we in the west have to care about how our allies fight in this struggle. Failure to win on one front encourages the terrorists to open new fronts. This is the time to institute reforms in the Russian forces. There is a role for countries like Canada in helping the Russian Forces transform themselves into an effective armed force. Certainly, Canada has much expertise to offer on how to create an effective fighting force on the cheap.