81.   Military analysts express amazement at how easily the rebels crossed into Dagestan, and how slowly the Russian military reacted.

82.   Monday, the Russian military reported that it had repelled an attempt by a large rebel force to try to cross into Dagestan again.

83.   Most dispassionate experts argue that the Russian military routinely commits crimes against Chechen civilians with little fear of punishment.

84.   Moreover, the Russian military argues that it needs the islands to defend the Russian Far East and to protect Russian ballistic missile submarines in the Sea of Okhotsk.

85.   Most of the information about the assault came from the Russian military or officials, or semiofficial Russian news media.

86.   Nonetheless, the Russian military trumpeted the capture as a breakthrough.

87.   Nor are its radios compatible with those used by the Russian military.

88.   Now the Russian military appears ready to strike throughout Chechnya by air and perhaps even to stage raids on the ground.

89.   News that he may be facing his last stand there has cheered the Russian military.

90.   Often, she said, the Russian military clears fields for farmers to plow, only to have civilians detonate mines they missed or new ones placed by rebels.