George Bush: America's Chamberlain
Filed under: Russia
For those who had been hoping that George Bush would end his seemingly limitless capacity for hideous missteps on Russia policy before his term in office ended and history condemned him to its ashcan, Wednesday's issue of the Moscow Times newspaper came as a blood-curdling wakeup call.
An op-ed column by Leon Aron of the prestigious American Enterprise Institute think tank in Washington DC discussed an event the group held on March 10th at which AEI "hosted a panel discussion with leading members of the opposition in Russia -- Boris Nemtsov; Vladimir Ryzhkov; Oleg Buklemishev, the deputy manager of Mikhail Kasyanov's presidential campaign; and Vladimir Kara-Murza, the manager of Vladimir Bukovsky's presidential bid." Why did AEI do it? Aron writes:
This event was unusual for the AEI, and we decided to hold it because it is becoming increasingly difficult to hear their voices. They are banished from state-controlled television and have been pushed out of national and local politics. In addition, their rallies and demonstrations are routinely prohibited, and when they do protest on the street, they are attacked by riot police and Nashi thugs, who are paid from government funds. Their colleagues are harassed in their homes and on the streets. They are detained on bogus criminal charges, sometimes beaten unconscious and in a few cases thrown into psychiatric wards. Owners of halls and conference centers are afraid of giving them space for meetings and debates, and many advertising agencies refuse to produce their campaign materials. The police break into their headquarters and take away their computers, leaflets and posters, and the Kremlin-friendly courts never rule in their favor. In short, Nemtsov, Ryzhkov, Kasyanov and Bukovsky are becoming more like dissidents in the Soviet sense than a normal opposition force that you would find in Western democracies.
That's to say nothing of other dissident leaders, like Oleg Kozlovsky, who didn't even try to run for president and therefore didn't receive an AEI invitation.
And who is responsible for this outrage of neglect? The Bush administration, and specifically President Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Rice was in Moscow this week to meet with Russian counterparts over various policy differences, and the Times reports that she "met some leading liberals on Tuesday but did not see the Kremlin's most strident critics." Apparently, attempting to send a message of openness to negotiation, Rice decided to sacrifice morality and common sense -- just as President Bush has repeatedly done throughout his presidency where Russia is concerned. The Times explains:
Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates met for about an hour at the U.S. ambassador's Spaso House residence with six public figures: Yabloko leader Grigory Yavlinsky; former State Duma Deputy Vladimir Ryzhkov; Vladimir Milovidov, a former deputy energy minister turned Kremlin critic; Carnegie Moscow Center deputy head Dmitry Trenin; Olga Dergunova, VTB board member and former head of Microsoft Russia; and Newsweek Russia columnist Mikhail Fishman. Noticeably absent were former Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov, former chess champion Garry Kasparov and Union of Right Forces leader Nikita Belykh.
It's one thing (but, make no mistake, it's outrageous) for Rice to neglect Kasparov, AEI didn't include him either (he probably deserves a wakeup call for the disgraceful manner in which he folded his tent at the first sign of Kremlin opposition to his presidential campaign), and Belykh is largely unknown in the West. But for Rice to exclude anyone from Kasyanov's campaign while the former prime minister cools his heels facing a criminal indictment launched by the Kremlin to block his presidential candidacy is the final nail in the Bush administration's Russia coffin. And what about Kozlovsky? Ms. Rice, how dare you exclude this brilliant and courageous young leader who has just fought his way out of illegal military internment? How can America expect Russia to meet it halfway on democracy if you don't even have the courage to stand up for those who are risking all to do so?
In the lead-up to the Rice visit, Bush apparently send some kind of letter to his good pal Pooty-Poot, a letter whose contents the White House has not seen fit to release. The Times reports that upon reading it, Putin was suddenly in a "good mood" and announcing: "It's a serious document and we analyzed it carefully. If we manage to agree on its main provisions, we will be able to say that our dialogue is progressing successfully."
Hitler probably said the same thing about secret love notes he received from Chamberlain.
And in the end, what came of all this back-stabbing? Russia still spurned the U.S. defensive missile system for Europe, and Rice left Moscow empty-handed. Nice job, Mr. President & Madam Secretary. A nation turns its lonely eyes away in shame.
What the world needs from America is leadership in the new cold war, and what it gets is betrayal. What the world needs from America is Bush out, McCain in, and it can't happen soon enough for me.