Russia's Cold War

by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright September 20, 2008
All Rights Reserved.                    

              Countering U.S. moves to weaken the Russian Federation, President Dimitry Medvedev crossed two continents to consummate an arm’s deal with U.S. adversary Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.  Medvedev’s arms’sales to Venezuela breaches the Truman Doctrine, banning Russian military infiltration into the Western Hemisphere.  Siding with the former Russian province of Georgia, President George W. Bush, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and GOP presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) blasted Russia for “disproportionate” aggression, leaving 1,200 combat troops around Georgia and stationing 7,500 peacekeepers in the independent Russian provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.  On Aug.7, Georgian forces attacked both provinces to annex the territory.  On, Aug. 8, the Russian army split Georgia in two and decimated its military.

            U.S. officials haven’t told the truth about Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili, whose gross miscalculation and recklessness cost his country’s sovereignty.  Despite the best efforts of French President Nicholas Sarkozy, Georgia remains occupied by Russian forces, in no hurry to leave.  U.S. and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization have done almost everything to persuade Russia to get out.  Russia has used Georgia as a wake-up call, reminding the U.S. that there’s a price to pay for planning to install missile defense in Poland and the Czech Republic.  While the two events seem disconnected, Russia no longer wants the U.S. spying in Georgia, or, for that matter, allowing Israeli advisors to beef up the Georgian military.  When GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin delivered her Sept. 4 acceptance speech, she told voters “we’re all Georgians,” implying a mutual defense pact.

            Palin urged NATO to adopt Georgia, automatically obliging it go to war against Russia or any other aggressor.  While many in NATO know about the Baku-Tblilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, they’re not willing to go to war against Russia.  When Russia sent troops across the Georgian border Aug. 8, Saakashvili begged the West to send troops to defend his country.  Asking for U.S. troops to go to war against Russia showed incredible selfishness, failing to recognize the limits of U.S. power.  With both McCain and Palin saber-rattling against Russia and Tehran, there’s no appreciation for how another war would further endanger U.S. citizens and damage the economy.  Russia has responded to U.S. hostilities by reinforcing alliances with Tehran, Havana and Caracas.  Russia announced plans to sell Tehran advanced S-300 surface-to-air missile defense systems, with a range of over 90 miles.

            Russian Deputy Defense Minister Igor Sechin, a close ally of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, visited Caracas and Havana Sept. 15-16, discussing plans to supply America’s Western Hemisphere enemies advanced aircraft systems, armored personnel carriers and the new SU35 fighter jets.  Russian incursions into the Caribbean were considered unacceptable since the late President John F. Kennedy stared down the Soviets in the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.  Russia’s latest defensive measures were aimed at countering U.S. dominance in the Middle East but more specifically meddling along Russia’s border in Georgia and Eastern Europe.  Since Russian’s incursion in Georgia, Secretary of State Rice ratcheted up the Cold War rhetoric, threatening to keep Russia from joining the World Trade Organization.  Threatening the Kremlin won’t help U.S. chances in the U.N. Security Council.

            Russian President Dimitry Medvedev has already threatened to bomb U.S. missile defense sites in Eastern Europe.  Rice accuses Russia of reviving the Cold War but it was the U.S., not Russia, that insisted on cutting missile defense deals with Poland and the Czech Republic.  “The picture emerging is of a Russia increasingly authoritarian at home and aggressive abroad,” said Rice, urging the WTO to reject any attempt by Russian to join the organization.  Rice’s tough talk today comes eight years late, watching Russia dismantle the free press, reverse free market reforms, persecute and jail legitimate businessmen and dissidents and try to monopolize Europe’s energy trade.  Publicly lambasting Russia won’t stop Russia’s actions in Georgia and military deals around the globe.  Only intense diplomacy, negotiation and compromise can expect to breed future cooperation.

            More gunboat diplomacy from the White House only antagonizes Russia into taking more defensive actions.  When the U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates  announced plans June 14 to go ahead with missile defense in Poland and the Czech Republic, it killed any prospect of containing Iran’s nuclear ambitions or curbing Russia’s feverish bent on expanding its influence.  Containing Russian power involves more than arming surrogates like Georgia or, perhaps the worst mistake, occupying and setting up permanent bases in Iraq.  When the U.S. toppled Iraq under false pretences, it created more global paranoia—especially in Russia—about U.S. hegemony.  To escape pushing the world to the brink, the White House should reconsider its gunboat diplomacy and unilateral plans to go ahead with missile defense in Eastern Europe.  More diplomacy can only help the current mess.

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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