Haven't there been some reports as of a month ago that Basayev may be dead? I remember reading something on Strana.ru about it, and there were pictures of what looked to be his corpse?
I agree with your Newsmax assessment; what type of man would defect after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and then claim to know all that has happened covertly since?
Easy, the type of man who got rifted from the KGB when it was broken up into 3 parts. It is the x-KGB officer's get rich quick scheme....come to America, write a book about BS you claim to know...and watch all the paranoids pour money into your account to read your Tom Clancy knock off.