America Is Not As Strong As You Think
How much do I know about the strength of America? Nothing.
What do know about the people from Chechnya, Russia? They are a bunch of bad asses.
If you watch Real Sports with Bryant Gumble last night, you’d know that the 30 minute segment about MMA in Chechnya inspired this post. I’ve heard positive remarks about Real Sports but never tune in because I don’t know when it’s on. I was watching Highly Questionable yesterday and they did their Si or Non and previewed this piece which is how I knew about it.
What is Chechnya?
Ramzan Kadyrov and Mike Tyson
First things first, Ramzan Kadyrov is the “head of the republic” of Chechnya. He is an underling of Putin and has built Chechnya up with this alliance (I’ve also read he uses public funds for personal benefit). He gained this leading role after his father was assassinated by Chechen Islamists in 2004. Forgive me for not knowing the exact facts of the situation, but Ramzan leads an Islam population that is at constant odds with other Islam groups. It’s a war torn country who has found some solace being under Russia’s wing. It’s a fascinating read to understand how this relationship developed over the last decade.
Why Do We (the US) Care?
Kadyrov has devoted a portion of his time to the creation of Akhmat Fight Club. The Fight Club, named after his deceased father, trains Chechen males in MMA style fighting. Kadyrov says that they are the toughest fighters on the face of Earth because they have been bred by war and fighting in a cage with pads is a walk in the park. Loyalty is unconditional to Kadyrov and the ultimate fighters are those who are not only champions, but also serve in the army. These are bad men and are waiting to show the world, specifically the UFC, how bad they are.
Start them young. 5,000 youths are involved in the Fight Club.
The Real Sports piece was not only an informational segment, it interviewed Kadyrov directly which was an interview he hasn’t given a Westerner in years. Aside from the MMA, he was asked about the way his nation treats gays. Allegedly, the Chechen army goes around and collects gay people and tortures / kills them to rid them from this country. Of course Kadyrov denies this happens (he denies there are any gays in Chechnya), but journalists will report on these circumstances, only to find themselves 6 feet under once their report is released.
Kadyrov is not a fan of the West, specifically the US, and laughed / threatened when he was asked if he sees the West as a threat. I wish I could quote his exact words but it was something like, “we are the toughest people on the planet, they would stand no chance against our army as we’ve seen and done it all.” His personal philosophy (once again not a direct quote) is “to die in battle would be an honor”.
Are They A Threat?
Today I wanted to get a better answer to this question, because as I sat there last night thinking about it, the breeding of an army that has been through war like the Chechnya army has to be an advantage. These are die-hard individuals who have nothing to lose based off of where they came from.
When I Googled Chechnya, I saw they have a population of 1.34 million people. Russia has 144 million. The USA is 300 million deep and I’m not sure it makes much of a difference how tough you are when you are outnumbered 2-1. I certainly would think that invading Chechnya would result in more casualties than I’d care to think, but this doesn’t seem like a war they would win.
What struck me as thought provoking was that I knew 0 about Chechnya prior to this piece. There is so much out in this world that I know 0 about. If I had to fight a Chechen warrior, I would bet on my running skills to cause a draw. If our army was made up of people like me, we’d lose. To know that I grew up with the privilege to be whoever I wanted to be without worrying about my life is what scared me a bit about what Chechnya has. These people are literally not scared of death. I’m worried about getting bitten by a snake. Even with 1.3 million people, it makes me wonder how tough the American army is. The current count is 1.4 million in our Army. If there are 1.3 million fighting Chechen’s, this would be tougher than you think. Even tougher when Russia gets involved.
Hopefully this puts the US’s position in this world with a bit more clarity. Our citizens think we are the strongest, toughest, nation in the world. These people laugh at how weak we are. They see the instability of Trump and the US isn’t even a threat. Very humbling to start to come to grips with the reality of the fragility of this world. I’m sure Floyd knew what he was doing.
