The abduction and subsequent release of U.S. humanitarian worker Kenneth Gluck in Chechnya under suspicious circumstances and the recent accounts of Novaya Gazeta journalist Anna Politkovskaya once again focus international attention on Chechnya.

After many months of operations that at times involved as many troops as the whole population of Chechnya, one would assume that the military had cleansed the territory of terrorists and bandits. Many awards and orders have been given; generals, officers and heroes of the Chechen wars have gone on to political appointments and gubernatorial positions.

That would suggest the Kremlin is happy with the results achieved by these generals and the men under their command. Obviously, then, one has to ask: What is the Army still doing in Chechnya? If Army communiques are to be believed, the Chechen war has been won and only a marginal presence by military and intelligence services is being kept. But if the terrorists have been cleaned out, who then is abducting and threatening foreign aid workers and journalists?

The near-blanket ban on journalists entering Chechnya and the strict regime of sanitized territories in itself suggests that all is not well. At least half a dozen attempts have been made on the lives of senior Chechen government appointees within the past six months, and not a day goes by without incident or ambush. Amid all this turmoil, a demoralized military made up of draftees, volunteers and mercenaries seems to be engaging in excesses of the worst kind against civilians.

There is no reason to doubt any part of the account given by Politkovskaya. And it is disturbing that instead of questioning or throwing the book at the officers involved, Army command is simply ignoring the issue. Obviously, it has other problems than human rights, and one would have to conclude that the threat of terrorists remains unchecked and that the Army has no way to back out of this quagmire.

The puppet regime installed by Moscow would not survive a day if military and special forces pulled out; Chechens could never accept a treacherous group as its government in free elections. That leaves Moscow more or less where it started – except that now its own force is engaging in terror and human rights violations, while it was Chechen bandits who were dispensing such cruelties at the beginning of the campaign.

While reports of human-rights violations must be investigated with the involvement of independent observers, and guilty officers made to face prosecution, more effort should be directed toward political solutions. The final solution to the problem is a military pullout – for the sake of innocent Chechens and everyone else concerned.