Kevin - Where do we stop ( and it's not often I disagree with you)

Picture the senario

A gang of Rabid right wingers holding hostage in the Old Vic theater thretening to kill them all unless all imigration to the UK is stopped ?

A gang of our own home grown Nutt cases in Wales threatening to kill all in the Arms Park Stadium unless all English Speakers are expelled from Wales ?? - And there are enough Nat Nutt cases around to make this a realistic senario.

The KKK demanding repeal of all civil rights legislation in the US of A ???

Now neither of us were there in Moscow - and we did
not have the responsability of the decision, or the information to make the decision. Perhaps the Russian Authorities made a bad call, and misjudged it - we dont know, but most of the hostages were saved.

and to aceeed would only have gaurenteed a repeat some where else, somewhere later.

In the early 1970's my parents were in Egypt, as employees of HM Government in the UK/Egypt educational training program. My father left strickt instructions with the fammilly - he was not to be ransomed. Fortunately it never came to that.

Gareth