Top 10 Ways Dubya is Getting Russia Wrong
Filed under: Russia
By e-mail, a reader has challenged us to specify what exactly in George W. Bush's policy towards Russia we are complaining about in posts such as this one right here. Fair enough. Publius Pundit is nothing if not responsive to reader input! Click the jump to read our draft top ten list of things Dubya is doing wrong where Russia is concerned and how he could improve (proposed additions/subtractions very much welcome in the comments section).
UPDATE: Hooray! Maybe President Bush is a Publius reader! Look what he just said in Prague to a conference of dissidents: "In Russia, reforms that once promised to empower citizens have been derailed, with troubling implications for democratic development." Way to go! That's our boy, we knew he was in there somewhere! Now follow it up with some policies, sir, and we're on your bandwagon!
10.
Bush should adopt as his maxim on Russia the phrase: "Actions speak louder than words." Instead of inviting Russia's crazed neo-Soviet dictator to visit his vacation home in Maine, Bush should invite Putin to have lunch with him and Mikhail Khodorkovsksy in Chita, Siberia, on visiting day. Zbigniew Brzezinski has aptly characterized the notion of the Maine holiday.
9.
Bush should use Putin's outrageous recent spate of neo-cold-war actions as the perfect opportunity to mend fences in Europe that were broken over Iraq, and to consolidate the NATO and EU opposition to the rise of dictatorship and security menace in Russia by pledging America's full cooperation and support in their struggle.
8.
Bush should call for trade sanctions on Russia, including rejection from WTO membership and the continuation of the Jackson-Vanik sanctions, until Russia stops providing weapons to Venezuela's dictator, funding to Hamas and Hezbollah, and nuclear technology to Iran.
7.
Bush should demand that Russia extradite Andrei Lugovoi to Britain to stand trial for the murder of dissident Alexander Litvinenko. If Russia won't do it, he should support putting Lugovoi on trial in absentia and expel some Russian diplomats from the Russian embassy in Washington as a form of protest. If Putin says the Russian Constitution won't allow this, Bush should publicly call him a liar.
6.
Bush should instruct Condi Rice to publicly meet with and support key opposition leaders such as Garry Kasparov, Mikhail Kasyanov and Andrei Illarionov. He should tell her to publicize and support the "Other Russia" movement and he himself should visit the grave of Anna Politkvoskaya to lay a wreath there and say some words of comfort and support to her admirers, calling for justice in the investigation of her murder.
5.
Bush should fire the current ambassador to Russia and appoint someone who speaks Russian with native fluency and hates what is happening in Russia now not only because it's bad for the U.S. and the world but, most of all, because it's bad for Russia, a country she (or he) loves dearly. A similar person should occupy the top position on Russia in the U.S. State Department, and there should be someone with similar credentials inside the White House with the President's ear. Andrei Illarionov should be consulted in naming these key role players, and should be a go-to ad hoc advisor on an ongoing basis. If such a measure had been in place, Bush probably wouldn't have hosted known war criminal Vladimir Shamanov at a White House photo op.
4.
Bush should wake up and realize that a new Cold War has begun, and become the world's rhetorical leader in that struggle just as Ronald Reagan was before him, as opposed to repeatedly denying that it is occurring. He should call Russia what is is: A neo-Soviet dictatorship. For example, in today's New York Times, Bush is quoted as follows:
"My message will be Vladimir -- I call him Vladimir -- that you shouldn't fear a missile defense system," Bush said. '"As a matter of fact, why don't you cooperate with us on a missile defense system. Why don't you participate with the United States.'"
Bush should answer his own question, and acknowledge that the reason is because Vladmir wants the capacity to fire offensive missiles at Europe, particularly Eastern Europe, which he wants to re-annex. He should tell Vladimir that's not a good idea, and ask him why he needs to destroy Russia twice in his lifetime. "Isn't once enough?" he should ask. Then, he should start calling him "Mr. Putin."
3.
Bush should much more actively support the pro-West forces in places like Estonia, Georgia and Ukraine, starting by directing more American commerce and PR towards these countries, with regular high-level meetings that focus on Russia's imperialistic moves, especially in the area of weaponized energy. He should call on Russia to cease its cyber attacks on Estonia and its other attempts to undermine the sovereign integrity of these former Soviet slave states. Bush should propose massive new increases in U.S. military spending, just as Ronald Reagan did, not only to meet the neo-Soviet threat but to force Russia into another arms race that it, like the USSR, can't even wage much less win.
2.
Bush should call, as Soviet/Russian dissident and 2008 presidential candidate Vladimir Bukovsky has done, for Russia's ejection from the G-8. Its membership is a sham and disgrace, and Bush has not ony failed to oppose but actually supported it. He should refuse to participate until Russia is out.
1.
On June 16, 2001, at a press conference in Brdo Pri Kranju, Slovenia, Bush was asked about Putin: "Is this a man that Americans can trust?" Bush replied: "I will answer the question. I looked the man in the eye. I found him to be very straightforward and trustworthy. We had a very good dialogue. I was able to get a sense of his soul; a man deeply committed to his country and the best interests of his country. And I appreciated so very much the frank dialogue." Everyone in the known universe understands that was a mistake to say this, even if it was true, and everyone knows it wasn't even close to being true. Time for a retraction and apology, Mr. President, before your time runs out and you lose the chance. We'd be happy to accept and forgive. We'd admire your courage. If this isn't done, it's going to dog Bush's reputation through all of history as one of the most sensational rhetorical errors ever made by a U.S. president, easily the equal of "I didn't have sexual relations with that woman."