[tomahawk]

What's he going to do about it?

He can't control Chechnya.

He and Russia are irrelevant.

[cardinal4]

Russia has two thorns they cant control; the Mafia and Chechnya. Putin should probably take his own inventory before taking someone elses...

[MrPeanut]

I disagree.On the fall of the Soviet Union the Russians made the best of a bad situation and infiltrated the politics of France and Germany. They then cemented relationships in the Middle East and funneled their offensive military capabilities into those countries to undermine the USA. Invading Iraq was a declaration of war by the USA-not only on Iraq- but on the countries supporting Iraq (the Soviets). Putin made this statement because he knows the Cold War is back.