# Is Ilias Akhmadov a terrorist? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 8, 2004, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ilias-akhmadov-a-terrorist/263584 "2004-09-08T02:18:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2004, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ilias-akhmadov-a-terrorist/263584/1 "2004-09-08T02:18:03Z")
Akhamdov is the Chechen who was granted asylum in the US and over whom Putin recentlly blasted Bush. Is this guy aligned with terrorists, either Islamic or otherwise or he a true “freedom fighter” for Chechnya? I’m hoping for a factual answer here, so I’m posting in GQ rather than GD. I know the term “terrorist” is loaded with political overtones, but I’m hopeful we can keep the politics out of this. [Link.](http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/europe/09/07/putin.us/index.html) I’m also hoping we can skip the debate about how to spell his name correctly (Ilais vs Ilyas), but I kow how things are in this forum, so I’m not holding my breath. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2004, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ilias-akhmadov-a-terrorist/263584/2 "2004-09-08T03:00:57Z")
In the spirit of GQ . . . I think you need to clarify the question you’re asking. As currently framed, the question presents a false alternative. A terrorist is one who uses terror as a weapon to achieve his objectives. This is perhaps unduly broad; you might say that a terrorist is one who uses terror against noncombatants to achieve his objectives. But this is a quibble; the point is that to describe someone as a terrorist is to make a comment about the means he uses to achieve his objectives. A freedom fighter is one who fights to achieve freedom, either from foreign rule or from a home-grown tyrant. To call someone a freedom fighter is to comment on his objectives, but not on the means he uses to achieve them. It is perfectly possible to be a terrorist _and_ a freedom fighter, by using terrorist methods in an attempt to secure freedom from foreign rule or from tyranny. History offers many examples. I suggest you should think about whether you are concerned about Akhamdov’s objectives or the methods he (or his allies) use, and reframe your question accordingly. ---
**Author:** ![Brutus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Brutus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brutus)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2004, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ilias-akhmadov-a-terrorist/263584/3 "2004-09-08T03:49:43Z")
In the spirit of getting past meaningless quibbling, how about… Is Ilias Akhmadov a terrorist _or not_? ---
**Author:** ![Darwins\_Finch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darwins_finch/32/20304_2.png) [@Darwins\_Finch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darwins_Finch)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2004, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ilias-akhmadov-a-terrorist/263584/4 "2004-09-08T04:15:57Z")
I’ve found the following articles, from which one can determine that the answer is probably “depends on who’s asking”: [http://www.chechnya-mfa.info/print\_news.php?func=detail&par=77](http://www.chechnya-mfa.info/print_news.php?func=detail&par=77) (Written by Akhmadov himself, in which he certainly doesn’t _sound_ like a terrorist…) > **[Center for Defense Information](https://www.pogo.org/center-for-defense-information/)** > > The Center for Defense Information at POGO aims to secure far more effective and ethical military forces at significantly lower cost. (Interview with Akhmadov) [http://oag.ru/news/news000115.html](http://oag.ru/news/news000115.html) From that last link: > [@](#): > > Ilias Akhmadov, an associate of terrorist Shamil Basayev and one of the perpetrators of the 1996 hostage-taking incident at the maternity hospital in Budyonnovsk, Russia which left dozens killed, has not only been granted a visa by US authorities, but received a warm welcome by the US State Department upon his arrival in Washington. > > Akhmadov calls himself the Foreign Minister of the Ichkeria-Chechen Republic, a country recognized by no international body, with the exception of Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. > > In addition, Akhmadov’s comrade-in-arms Basayev is officially recognized even by Washington as an international terrorist. And from [this one](http://www.ocha.ru/public.php?_act=new&_op=view&_ti=9273): > [@](#): > > MOSCOW, August 6 (Itar-Tass) – Chechen extremist leader Aslan Maskhadov can be talked to only about his surrender to the local law enforcement agencies, Chechnya’s special envoy at the office of the Russian president, Ziyad Sabsabi has said. “The Chechen leadership insists that the future of Maskhadov, whose name features high on the most wanted list, must be decided in a court of law,” he said. “Peace talks with the extremists’ ring-leader simply cannot be.” About the United States’ decision to give political asylum to the so-called Interior Minister of Ickeryia, Ilyas Akhmadov, the Chechen representative at the Russian presidential office said it was "a policy of double standards in the struggle against international terrorism."The Prosecutor’s Office of Dagestan holds Akhmadov responsible for preparing for and masterminding the armed intrusion into the republic in 1999. It has issued a warrant for his arrest. The Russian office of the international criminal police organization Interpol put Akhmadov on its most-wanted list in August 2003. As for Basayev, [here’s a BBC article about him](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/460594.stm). There doesn’t appear to be anything even remotely unbiased one way or the other with respect to Akhmadov, though. ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2004, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ilias-akhmadov-a-terrorist/263584/5 "2004-09-08T04:20:35Z")
That’s better. But I think we can imrove it further. If Akhamdov has himeself been involved in perpetrating terrorist acts, then there is a simple answer to the question. I don’t know what it is, but doubtless somebody will be along shortly who does. The question bcomes murkier if Akhmadov is associated or aligned with people who have perpetrated terrorist acts. The question then becomes (a) what is the degree of association or alignment, and (b) what degree of association or alignment to we require before we regard Akhmadov as a terrorist? The OP clearly contemplates that simply sharing an objective (the freedom of Chechnya from Russian control) with terrorists is not enough to make Akhmadov himself a terrorist, so presumably _some_ degree of alignment is acceptable. But what degree? If Akhmadov declines to assist the Russian authorities against terrorists, does that make him a terrorist? If he expresses the view that resort to force is justified, or that a particular example of resort to force (by someone else) is not a terrorist action when we consider that it is, or both of these views, does that make him a terrorist? If he expresses the view that terrorism is justified, while not engaging in it himself, does that make him a terrorist? If he simply declines to condemn terrorist acts, in the style of Nelson Mandela, does that make him a terrorist? Good intentions notwithstanding, this one is headed for Great Debates, as is almost any question which seeks to categorise someone as a terrorist. Perhaps the question should be “what has Akhemdov’s involvement in the Chechen conflict been?” ---
**Author:** ![casdave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2004, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-ilias-akhmadov-a-terrorist/263584/6 "2004-09-08T08:04:49Z")
Categorising someone as a terrorist will also partly depend upon the viewpoint of the observer. For Russians, he will probably be regarded as being, at the very least, associated with them. In the UK we have long regarded Gerry Adams in various ways, as a terrorist in diguise would be a reasonable view of the way the British have seen him for many years. Most in the US would see him as a politician, but his organisation, Sinn Fein, has very close links with the IRA, with some if not most participants being members of both. Adams is regarded as one of the main leaders of the non-military wing of the IRA but his party has in the past been banned as a terrorist organisation. Things are differant nowadays, Gerry Adams is definately seen as a politician except by those relatively few, who will never be convinced otherwise. I’d hazard a guess and say that Akhmadov might well have a murky past to some eyes, but to others he will be treated as a representative. In any organisation with some kind of nationalist political outlook there will be more radical elements who will use the party of create another grouping within and try to enjoy the legitimacy of the parent party. The sub-party might well end up as a terrorist group, either hijacking or breaking away completely. If the party is relatively small, then there’s a very good chance that most of the members are at least acquainted. It’d be quite difficult to then draw a line between the outright terrorist, the sympathisers and those who are seeking a more peaceful solution.