Chechen Conflict: A Case for U.S. Intervention

摘要

With Russia's inability to improve conditions in Chechnya and the international community's failed attempts to negotiate a diplomatic resolution to the conflict, Islamic extremism in Chechnya is growing precipitously and risks spilling over into the neighboring republics of Ingushetia, Dagestan and Kabardino-Balkaria and the neighboring country of Georgia. The question this paper addresses, therefore, is: does the unresolved Chechen conflict and the spread of Islamic extremism warrant U.S. intervention. As this paper's analysis of the conflict demonstrates, the answer to this question is a resounding -yes. In fact, this paper argues that if the United States does not use its influence to resolve the Chechen conflict and thus preempt the growth of Islamic extremism in the North Caucasus, Chechnya risks devolving into a major front in the GWOT.