We are pretty impressed with the latest article from Sarah Mendelson of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) published by Foreign Policy.  It is exceptionally easy to whine and moan about conditions of injustice and human rights violations in Russia, while it is altogether another task to begin debating ideas as to how the international community can take concrete steps to help improve the situation.  Mendelson has not yet drank the kool-aid, and recognizes just how far away we really are from having either the Obama or Medvedev administrations actually care about what is happening in the North Caucasus, but it is rare to even see the hypothetical policies discussed.

Moreover, the North Caucasus embodies many of the characteristics Obama officials have cited as fostering terrorism. In 2006, a colleague and I commissioned a survey of 1,200 males in the Caucasian republics of Dagestan, North Ossetia, and Kabardino-Balkaria. We found that young men in the area had few employment prospects. Neither the local nor federal governments delivered the social services they and their families needed, and they did not know who would supply jobs or a safety net for them. Our findings suggested that the North Caucasus is fertile ground for terrorist recruiters promising to provide for this young, disaffected population. Whoever gets there first will win the region. In fact, North Caucasians already serve as a recruitment pool for militias fighting outside of Russia and against the United States in Pakistan and Afghanistan.