Chechan timeline
The original root causes of the conflict are political, but being propogated by fundamental islamic "Believers". AQ and these Chechan paramilitary whatevers have been in bed for years. This IS Islamic Fundamentalist Terrorism. The goal might be an "independant" Chechnya, but that would have a heavy fundamental/radical islamic base to it. What you will have is another refuge, another Afghanistan-which it pretty well is already. If you don't think AQ is alive and well and hiding in Chechnya, sorry, they are.