Ever since Barack Obama's first relatively friendly state visit to Moscow, Washington and the Kremlin have engaged in a showdown of gestures over the elephant in the room: the legitimacy of Russia's claim to a privileged sphere of influences. Directly after meeting with Obama, Prime Minister Putin did some male bonding with a large motorcycle gang, before sending them off toward Crimea, Ukraine under the RF flag. Medvedev proceeded directly from the G8 in Italy to visit South Ossetia and Abkhazia, but not before threatening to place Iskander missiles in Kaliningrad. As for Washington, today VP Joseph Biden landed in Kiev, Ukraine, and will travel onward to visit some friends in Georgia. These gestures on behalf of both sides say just as much as any summit speech.
On a related note, yesterday the Washington Post ran an editorial responding to the open letter signed by more than a dozen former democratic leaders of the post-Soviet East, warning the West on the vital importantance of democracy promotion in the East and the destabilizing threat of current Russian policy.
On a related note, yesterday the Washington Post ran an editorial responding to the open letter signed by more than a dozen former democratic leaders of the post-Soviet East, warning the West on the vital importantance of democracy promotion in the East and the destabilizing threat of current Russian policy.
Since the signatories are staunch allies of the United States and of democracy -- ranging from Vaclav Havel and Alexandr Vondra of the Czech Republic to Lech Walesa and Alexander Kwasniewski of Poland to Vaira Vike-Freiberga of Latvia and Valdas Adamkus of Lithuania -- they merit a hearing.
The global recession has given room to "nationalism, extremism, populism, and anti-Semitism" in some of their countries, the former leaders acknowledge. At the same time, they say, "NATO today seems weaker than when we joined" while "Russia is back as a revisionist power pursuing a 19th-century agenda with 21st-century tactics and methods. . . . The danger is that Russia's creeping intimidation and influence-peddling in the region could over time lead to a de facto neutralization of the region."
In response, they say, the Obama administration should recommit to NATO as a defense alliance, not just an expeditionary force with duties in Afghanistan and beyond. It should support pipelines that will diminish the region's dependence on Russian oil and gas. It should take care, as it evaluates planned missile-defense installations in Poland and the Czech Republic that Russia opposes, to consult closely with the governments that have the most at stake. It should invest in relationships with younger generations that do not remember communism or the struggle against it.
Oh the hypocrisy...
While these "democratic" leaders complain about Russia's "invasion" to Georgia they are committing a genocide on Iraqi children in Iraq.