Putin did it

I'm convinced Vladamir Putin assasinated a critic of his policies in Chechnya. This KGB agent, after all, thought Bush fired Dan Rather.

From the first article linked to above:

"There was no attempt to disguise the murder as a theft or an accident: Her assassin not only shot her in broad daylight, but he left her body in the elevator of her apartment building alongside the gun he used to kill her -- standard practice for Moscow's arrogant hit men... Whereas local thieves might have tried to cover their tracks, Politkovskaya's assassin, like so many Russian assassins, did not seem to fear the law.

...

After all, whoever pulled the trigger -- or paid someone to pay someone to pull the trigger -- has already won a major victory. As Russian (and Eastern European) history well demonstrates, it isn't always necessary to kill millions of people to frighten all the others: A few choice assassinations, in the right time and place, usually suffice... After the assassination of Politkovskaya on Saturday, it's hard to imagine many Russian journalists following in her footsteps to Grozny either. "

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Putin is not our friend.