I get so sick of "its all about the oil" mantra.
Certainly, petroleum has much to do with national interests. As does arable land, water, strategic location and even national pride.
But the above is a clue that the author has no clue. Because one very large Uranium deposit is in the mountans of Chechnya. If Chechnya gained independence, it would join Afghanistan as a third world Islamic ****-hole with a huge source of fissionable material; a material as valuable for fuel as it is for weapons.
You know, if the Mexicans tried to take back Texas, and we went to stop them, it would just because of all of the oil reserves in Texas...