by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright July 3, 2007
All Rights Reserved.

aking Russian President Vladimir V. Putin for a spin in his father's speedboat along the rocky coast near the Bush's summer home in Kennebunkport, Maine, President George W. Bush hopes to mend fences, after years of frosty relations. Bush and Putin are at loggerheads over White House plans to install a missile defense shield in Eastern Europe, specifically Poland and the Czech Republic. Putin rejects Bush's rationale of providing Europe with protection against possible missile strikes by rogue countries like Iran and North Korea. Putin and the Kremlin want Bush to relocate the proposed missile defense system to Azerbaijan, away from Russia's backyard. “When Russia and the United States speak along the same lines, it tends to have an effect and therefore I appreciate the Russians' attitude in the United Nations,” said Bush, in one of his famous non-sequiturs.

      Russia has veto clout on the U.N. Security Council, as do four other permanent members China, Great Britain, France and the U.S. Bush has been prodding Putin, to no avail, to approve strict sanctions against Iran for refusing to (a) suspend enriching uranium and (b) openly allow U.N. inspections of its nuclear sites. Moscow has a vested business interest in its neighbor, building Iran's $1 billion Bushehr heavy water reactor. “We're close on recognizing that we got to work together to send a common message,” said Bush, referring to the U.N.'s determination to keep Tehran from making nuclear weapons. Iran's radical President Mahoud Ahmadinejad called Oct. 27, 2005 for Israel “to be wiped off the map,” prompting concerns about Tehran's nuclear ambitions. Bush seeks Putin's support on the Security Council to send the Ayatollah a loud message to stop enriching uranium.

      Bush hasn't acknowledged Russia's ongoing role of supplying arms to terror groups and rogue states. Pentagon officials like to blame Iran for supplying arms, specifically, antitank weapons called Explosively Formed Penetrators, to Iraq's insurgents and terrorists fighting the U.S. No one has called Putin on the carpet for supplying far more weapons than Tehran to insurgents and terrorists, including sophisticated shoulder-fired missiles, rocket-propelled grenades, night-vision goggles and other equipment, to name a few. Putin, a former KGB agent, remembers when the CIA paid Osama bin Laden in the early ‘80s to fight Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. Now that the tables are turned, Russia has no qualms about returning the favor, supplying arms, resources, logistics and training to terrorists and insurgent fighting U.S. occupation in Iraq.

      Hosting Putin at Kennebunkport scores public relations points for Bush and Putin, both facing retirement in the next two years. Putin faces more problems in breakaway republics like Chechnya, watching the once monolithic Soviet Union disintegrate, no longer the superpower he knew while at the KGB. Putin said there would be “further substantial intercourse on this issue,” referring to Bush's wish that Russian support the U.S.'s call for Tehran to suspend enrichment activities. Bush's need for Russian support may trump White House plans to install missile defense in Eastern Europe. Putin wants Bush to switch gears and install radar in Southern Russia and bring more European nations into the decision-making process. With Bush's immigration plan going up in smoke last week, he has a vested interest in working with Putin to achieve more concrete foreign policy goals.

      Putin also opposes Bush's plan to support the independence of ethnic Albanians in Kosovo, seeking independence from Serbia. Russia has loyalty to Serbia, showing no interest supporting an Islamic regime. “The relationship of our two countries would be raised to an entirely new level,” said Putin, encouraging Bush, in the strongest possible terms, to change plans to install missile defense in the Poland and the Czech Republic. If Bush wishes better relations with the Kremlin, he needs to make concessions, especially on a plan with no urgent strategic purpose, like missile defense in Eastern Europe. With immigration reform dead for the foreseeable future, Bush should concentrate on key foreign policy goals, including (a) improving relations with Russia and (b) ending the war in Iraq. Pursuing nonessential foreign policy goals that sour Russian relations makes no economic or political sense.

      Meeting with Putin opens up the possibility of turning a corner on U.S.-Russian relations, as long as Bush makes important concessions. Placing strategic “defensive” missiles in Poland and the Czech Republic guarantees Putin will oppose Bush on virtually every foreign policy goal, from curtailing Iranian nuclear enrichment to forming economic and strategic alliances with Latin American crackpots like Venezula's Hugo Chavez. “I think the Czech Republic and Poland need to be an integral part of the system,” said Bush, considering Putin's offer to allow the U.S. to use an early-warning radar system in Azerbajian. Calling Putin's plan “very sincere” and “very innovative” isn't enough to satisfy the Kremlin. Whatever pressure from lobbyists and defense contractors, Bush needs to look at the big picture, pick the right battles and make some easy concessions.

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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