Is the cold war coming back?
Published Mon, Jun 4 2007 12:43 PM
Technorati Tags: News and Politics
Do we really need more proof that Vladimir Putin want's to bring back the "glory days" of the old Soviet Union? The Seattle PI is reporting on some harsh words at the outset of President Bush's trip to Europe. Of course, to read their headline, it looks like it's all the President's fault. "Bush opens Europe trip on jarring note" indeed.
PRAGUE, Czech Republic -- President Bush's European trip was jarred as it began Monday by deteriorating relations with Russia and threatening words from President Vladimir Putin.
Bush and Putin will see each other at the annual summit of industrialized nations, beginning Wednesday at the Baltic Sea resort city of Heiligendamm, Germany. In a diplomatic poke in the eye at Putin, Bush bracketed the summit with stops in the Czech Republic and Poland - the two countries where the United States wants to build a missile defense system for Europe.
Already complaining of being encircled by NATO's expansion, Putin said putting missile defenses on Russia's doorstep would ignite a new arms race. He threatened to retarget Russia's missiles toward Europe.
That's not a threat we can safely ignore. We have a mutual defense treaty with most of Europe. Threatening Europe in this way is the same as threatening the United States.
It's really starting to sound like Mr. Putin wants a return to the days of the cold war. Maybe this will distract Russians from the horrible things his government is doing?
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged Putin to cool down.
"This isn't the Soviet Union and we need to drop the rhetoric that sounds like what the United States and the Soviet Union used to say about each other and realize it is the United States and Russia in a very different period," Rice said on the way to an Organization of American States meeting in Panama City, Panama.
"It doesn't really help anybody to start threatening the Europeans," she said. "You cannot launch a threat at Europe that is separable from the United States."
Well, you actually could. As long as you do it through immigration and outpacing the European birth-rate.
Still Secretary Rice has a point. Vladimir Putin's rhetoric is sounding more and more like the rhetoric of the old Soviet Union. He's afraid of NATO. Why would that be?
Aside from his sharp words at Washington, Putin also took a slap at Britain for seeking the extradition of a Russian businessman who is a suspect in the killing of former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko. Putin called London's move "stupidity." German Chancellor Angela Merkel also had a run-in with Putin last month, criticizing Russia's crackdown on political opponents.
That's right. Putin took a slap at Britain for seeking the extradition of a chief suspect in the murder of a British Citizen who just happened to be one of Putin's biggest critics. I guess he believes that Russia should get a pass for obstructing the investigation.
Still, we know that the polonium used to murder Alexander Litvinenko came from Russia. We know that the amount of polonium used is not commonly available except to governments. We know that Mr. Litvinenko was critical of Putin's government and that he was not the first person to oppose that government to be poisoned.
The Russians could do without a "leader" like Vladimir Putin. But I'm sure they've seen what happens to his opposition.
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