Trade-Off?

      Well, we all heard about the random act of terrorism in Boston that left many innocent people injured and others dead. The perpetrators were identified as Muslim brothers who immigrated to the US from Dagestan. According to a Startfor analysis, terrorists such as the Dagestani brothers although not affiliated with organizations such as Al Qaeda and its main branches, they are "inspired" by its agenda, and independently - as grassroot movements - form  small cells that implement terrorist acts. Whether the attackers acted as per the indications of Al Qaeda leaderships - which are now opting for smaller attacks that create chaos and shake national stability and security- or they were acting independently to express frustration with US policies towards the Muslim world and the Palestinian plight is irrelevant to this article. What is relevant is the fact that the attackers are from the Caucasus...the troubled and troubling region in Russia's periphery.

    Putin made a statement on Thursday declaring the need for the US and Russia to work together to fight terrorism. These terrorists can be anywhere, and can threaten anyone. As we all saw, these Dagestani men were able to carry out an attack on US soil. Now the US and Russia want to work together to rid the world of such movements. Such a decision might have important implications on the current wave of political change in the Arab world, via concessions from both the US and Russia on the Syrian and Caucasus files.

    The US has long followed a policy of containing Russia, impairing its efforts from expanding and reestablishing itself as a Soviet power. Ensuring that former Soviet satellite states are well accommodated into the EU or are aligned with the US, and supporting western aligned states such as Georgia in confrontations with Russia, in addition to strengthening NATO presence are but some means to contain the Russian empire from reemerging. Conveniently enough for the US, chaos in the Caucasus ensure that Russia has its share of trouble in the immediate periphery, which is an important hurdle to any expansionist move to the west. 

      Now that Russia, as a permanent member in UNSC, vetoed any action against the Syrian regime, and the US is cornered as Al-Qaeda affiliated fighters are moving closer and closer to the Golan Heights (which means grave security threats to the Israeli depth), a stubborn Russia must be dealt with. Could it be that the US and Russia are reaching a trade-off? Can it be that Russia with will withdraw its veto in return for US "support" in clamping down on the Islamist separatist movements in the Caucasus? Will the US be ready to allow Russia to maneuver westward in return for abandoning Syria?

   Personally, I think that the attack (unfortunately) came at excellent timing. Americans will feel that they are targeted by not only Islamists emerging from Afghanistan and Pakistan,  but also from the region that has been long troubling Russia. Any cooperation with Russia in this area will be supported and justified. Should this reading be accurate, then the entire map in the region will soon change, and the international balance of power will start changing, tilting more perhaps to the heartland and its Russian sponsor.