I wonder.
Terrorism strikes again. Is the world as forgiving, understanding and accepting of the Chechens' terrorism as it is of the Palestinians' terrorism? After all, the Russians have been much less willing to accommodate the Chechens over the years than Israel has been with regard to the Palestinians. Israel's "atrocities" are nothing near those said to have been perpetrated by Russia in Chechnya. I think that if the Chechens expect to gain the worldwide public support our pals over here have, as a result of horrific terrorist attacks, they're going to be sadly disappointed.

Cynicism aside, this is horrible. If the many Russian born Israelis are anything to go by, Russians are very culturally minded people. They love the theatre. Those Chechens really knew where to strike to make it hurt worst.

Update: Another thought that comes to mind: There has been a lot of Chechen terrorism in Russia and no one even noticed. They had to do something really really momentous for the world to sit up and take note.