The Chechen conflict was never a high-minded fight for self-determination: since the Soviet Union's break-up it has been essentially a battle between Moscow and Chechnya's local leaders for control of the republic's oil revenues.

ECONOMIST: Victims of a conflict without end | The

The left would apologize for our power, wax multicultural, placate Moscow and Islamists, mollify Beijing, abandon Georgia, battle over civil rights issues of internment and due process while enemies flourish inside our borders.

FORBES: Magazine Article