The assassination of Chechen President Akhmad Kadyrov on May 9 is not only a major set back for Vladimir Putin's designs to enforce peace in the war torn republic, it is also emblematic of how ill-conceived "road maps" are.
The capture last month of ousted Iraqi President Saddam Hussein may have played into the hands of those members of the Russian leadership who seek, for whatever reasons, to prolong indefinitely the ongoing low-level hostilities in Chechnya.
Beyond securing national interests, idealistic crusades beckon; the temptation to use American power to reshape the world is quite potent.