by John M. Curtis
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Copyright June 4, 2007
All Rights Reserved.

laying a modern-day Nikita Khrushchev, Russian President Vladimir V. Putin threatened to train missiles on Europe, countering what he sees as U.S. world domination. Khrushchev raised eyebrows at the U.N. Sept. 29, 1960 when he removed his shoe and banged it on his desk, in response to a speech by British Prime Minister Harold MacMillan. While Putin hasn't gone over the deep-end yet in advance of the June 6 G-8 summit in the German Baltic port city of Heiligendamm, his recent threats underscore Russia's growing irrelevance. Two years before the Berlin Wall collapsed Nov. 1989, the late President Ronald Reagan asked reform-minded Russian President Mikail Gorbachev to “Tear down this wall.” Two years later Oct. 18, 1991, Gorbachev acquiesced to the independence of Azerbaijan, Moldavia, Ukraine and the Baltic states, ending the Soviet Union.

      Considered a superpower before its collapse, Russia now finds itself wedged between the Netherlands and Argentina, as the world's 16th-ranked economy. Over the last 10 years, Putin watched the end of the Warsaw Pact, begun by Khrushchev in 1955 to counter NATO. Not only has Russia lost its superpower status, it's lost its influence over its once Warsaw Pact allies and breakaway republics. Putin's futile battle to hold Chechnya symbolizes the disintegration leaving Russia with diminished global clout. En route to the G-8 summit, President George W. Bush plans to stop in the Czech Republic and Poland to discuss building and placing antimissiles batteries. While Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice have given reassurance, Putin insists that the action will stimulate a new Cold War-style arms race. Putin views Bush's plan as his Cuban Missile Crisis.

      When Khrushchev tried to put ICBMs in Cuba in 1962, President John F. Kennedy stood his ground, threatening to blockade Cuba. Khrushchev eventually backed down, ending, what many felt, was the world's closet nuclear confrontation. “It's a defense against something which does not exist,” said Putin. “It would be funny if it was not so sad,” rejecting Bush's excuse of deploying antimissile batteries to counter threats from Iran, North Korea and other rogue states. Putin believes that Bush's plan continues NATO's domination of Western and, now, Eastern Europe, something Putin can't accept. Putin's last trump card involves saber-rattling with Russia's nuclear arsenal, still a threat to world peace. Threatening to point ballistic missiles at European cities gives Putin added muscle heading into this week's summit. Putin's threats hark back to the Cold War days.

      Putin's bluster comes at a time when Russia's free-market reforms and institutions have been under siege. Since taking office May 7, 2000, Putin has appropriated privately held industries, chasing oligarchs into exile or incarcerating them in Siberia. Putin orchestrated the end to Russia's fledgling free press, closing down independent radio and TV stations, especially those critical of his policies. In an act of international intrigue, Putin refused to extradite suspected KGB hit-man Andrei Lugovoy for poisoning former Russian intelligence agent Alexander Litvinenko in in London with radioactive isotope Polonium 210. Litvinenko was apparently investigating the suspicious death of celebrated Russian journalist Ana Politkovskaya, a critic of Putin's Chechnya policy. Putin denies any involvement but refuses to extradite Lugovoy to the U.K. for interrogation.

      Bush calls Putin “my friend” but hasn't dealt with his relentless assault on Russia's free markets and institutions. Like Ian Flemming's “From Russia with Love,” Putin looks the part and talks a good game but is KGB through-and-through. During his seven years in office, he has done everything to consolidate his power and fortify the Kremlin. “It doesn't really help anybody to start threatening Europeans,” said Rice, rejecting the idea of deteriorated U.S.-Russian relations. “You cannot launch a threat at Europe that is separate from the United States,” putting Putin on notice that he risks alienating the West. At the same time, Rice knows that, given Russia's situation, Putin wouldn't take lightly Bush's plan to install missile defense in Eastern Europe. Moving forward with missile defense in Poland and the Czech Republic tells Putin he's no longer relevant.

      Heading to the G-8 summit, Bush hopes to divert attention away from the bad news in Iraq. With French President Jacques Chirac out and Nicolas Sarkozy in, the White House won itself a new transatlantic ally, together with an already close ties German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Europe has inured itself to the Iraq war, realizing Bush's days are numbered. “Vladimir Putin will tell me that Russia is a democracy and that he's advancing democracy,” Bush told reporters aboard Air Force One. “We have got some questions about that, of course,” realizing he won't be able to slap Putin's back this time around. Putin has already accepted an invitation July 1-2 to summit at the Bush compound in Kennebunkport, Maine. Between now and the '08 election, Bush has few opportunities to shine and help his Party. Showing statesmanship at the G-8 with Putin should help his cause.

About the Author

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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