For someone who was just putting the guy's claim out there to look at, as you said, you're very quick to defend it.
I'm trying to give it its due, given the bias I've admitted to in the same post - I can see where he's coming from, you see. There are elements to this that are very shady indeed, and "shadiness" (i.e. rampant corruption, criminality, political assassinations and lies) is the name of the game for the Russian government under Putin and the United Russia party. Putin is the luckiest President/leader in the history of Russia.
It's a very rickety position though because there's virtually no evidence to support the kind of claims Zakayev is making. I would implore him to be a bit more careful in the language he's using considering he represents a government in exile that's meant to be the more reasonable alternative to the Caucasus Emirate.
Guys, this is all pretty silly. The conspricy theory crowd is just doing their thing.
Seriously, such an act by Russia would be an act of war if it was discovered. They'd risk their entire country just to give the chechens a bad reputation with Americans?
It is quite far fetched that they'd do something so reckless unless they had a very good reason relating to new plans Putin has in store for the North Caucasus or something. The other point though that it hasn't just given the Chechens a bad reputation with Americans, it's also vindicated Putin's policies to an extent in the eyes of the wider international public. That said though the effect hasn't really been strong enough to imply there was something really tangible to gain.
I'd raise my eyebrows though if Obama made some kind of commitment in light of this. That's what I'm going to wait for.