Op-Ed: Chechen Islamists behead Russian soldiers (Graphic video)

The Internet allows graphic, hideous scenes of horror to be beamed into our homes, raising the question if the content is too graphic, or if it contributes to further violence.

While researching an article on Chechnya I came across a link to a video showing the beheading of six Russian soldiers by Islamic extremists. Beheading is a common punishment in Saudi Arabia where the practice is criticized, but at least a sharp sword does the work in seconds. The Chechnya video showed film of young soldiers having their heads hacked off by a knife, a slow, agonizing torture by hardened killers that showed no mercy. The Salautdin Temirbulatov terrorists who committed the brutal murders were eventually caught or killed. It was not the first time such graphic images of violence spewed forth on the Internet. Islamic extremists meted out the same death sentence on film to a man in Somalia, whose crime was to be a Christian. The purpose of filming such atrocious acts is propaganda, raising the question if they excite others to join jihadist groups or commit acts of violence within their own communities. Some Internet sites host such footage to draw attention to the barbarism of Islam at its most extreme. Does the inclusion of such film on Internet sites have any redeeming purpose or should they be banned? They depict the horror of war, of man's inhumanity to man, and turn the stomach.