Growing alienation of affection between soul mates…
Last Sunday, President Putin of Russia and the Mullah’s of Iran signed an agreement for Russia to supply Iran with critical materials to build a nuclear reactor. Yet only days earlier – in their joint news conference – President Bush declared that he and Putin stood as soul mates in opposition to Iran’s having this facility to build nuclear bombs. But, evidently, Bush’s declaration was lost in translation on Putin.
For the record, Iran insists that the intended use of its nuclear reactor is purely economic (to provide an additional source of energy for its people). But since Iran sits on the largest energy reserves in the entire world, its representations in this regard are patently suspect. Moreover, only yesterday, the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported that “it is still not able to provide assurances that Iran is not pursuing clandestine activities at undeclared locations”.
Therefore, given the stakes involved, this policy tiff between Bush and Putin cannot be dismissed as just a misunderstanding between friends. Putin is a dangerous man. He is a (wanna be) Czar – scorned. But, worse than a woman scorned, he has lots of nuclear bombs at his disposal to vent his hysterical frustrations. (Maybe he’s just throwing a hissy fit after seeing Bush and that suave frenchman, Jacque Chirac, kiss and make up.)
Meanwhile, despite his bluster about calling things as he sees them, Bush seems to be courting a perilously blind spot for Putin. After all, Putin has made no secret of his zealous pining to reform Russia back to a police state: He has silenced the press; jailed dissidents and political opponents; and decreed that, henceforth, he will appoint all regional governors by presidential fiat.
In addition, he is trying to reclaim Russia’s (superpower) sphere of influence in the world by, among other things, warning Russia’s former satellite states against joining Nato (even though all of them – led by Poland – seem determined to defy him); trying to affect the make-up of East European governments (as he did, to no avail, in Georgia and Ukraine); and forming bilateral relationships with rogue states to counter America’s influence (like selling advanced military equipment to North Korea, Syria, Libya, Cuba and Venezuela).
Clearly, the moment of reckoning for Bush’s unrequited affair with Putin is imminent. Because, it is one thing for Putin to dominate his people and attempt to strong-arm his neighbors. But it makes a mushrooming world of difference for him to sell military equipment to terrorist states and give aid and comfort to the fanatical Mullahs of Iran; thereby fueling their holy mission to build the bomb. (Imagine the suicide bombers in Iraq with nuclear weapons instead of pipe bombs as their weapons of mass destruction….)
Nevertheless, the verdict is still out on Bush’s starry-eyed embrace of Putin as his soul mate. Because Bush may yet prove a visionary like Margaret Thatcher who declared Gorbachev a “man we can do business with” and formed the relationship that precipitated the end of the Soviet Union. Or, he may prove a political concubine like Neville Chamberlain who declared “peace in our time” about his relationship with Hitler that was but foreplay for Hitler’s attempt to conquer Europe.
Bush and Putin’s next date is scheduled for May. Let us all pray they reconcile their differences, soon!
News and Politics
Legacy Note: With over 5,600 posts spanning 20 years, I am easily the most prolific blogger on the most eclectic array of topics on the web. That makes The iPINIONS Journal an unparalleled archive of informed political and cultural commentary. Visit the ARCHIVES section in the sidebar or search by topic. You won’t find a more consistent, independent voice on world affairs.
Anonymous says
very good.