A second helping of Cold War stew? Why, yes, I'd love some, thank you.
I was a small child in the 80's when the Cold War was winding down. Between the Smurfs, Snorks and Gummi Bears I vaguely remember seeing commercials about Russian paratroopers stealing our fast food, Gorbachev meeting with , the Berlin Wall coming down. That's my remembrance of the Cold War. No Bay of Pigs for me.
Imagine my political delight upon hearing that Russia wants nothing to do with the United States proposed missile defense system -- which would be deployed to parts of "New Europe". Imagine my political delight upon hearing that, not only is Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice currently in Russia but so is Defense Secretary Robert Gates. And that Russian President Vladimir Putin told Gates, himself, of his contempt of the missile defense plan.
You can read all about it, but, truly, it's on.
It's not all that surprising, really. When the U.S.S.R. fell, the West did virtually nothing to ensure that its birth into democracy would go smoothly. I mean, this is the nation that had as much weaponry stockpiled as the Good Ole U.S. of A. Instead, though, big business ruled the day with oligarchs both within and without Russia bleeding the nation dry. Undermining democratic efforts. (One can't help but be reminded of how the West screwed with Iran in the 50's as its first tasted of democracy flowered. You can see where that's gotten us.) As Raleigh-Elizabeth Smith pointed out in her post WH: Oops, Armenia the world is gearing up for USA vs. Russia part deux. Strangely, though, unlike the first Cold War, which was mostly about physical security, the second one's gonna be about energy security. Although I guess that's not so strange; everything goes back to energy eventually, no?
I've been expecting the rhetoric to ratchet up for some time now. Things have been on a kind of slow boil, Putin saying maybe Russia will point some missiles at Europe, George W. Bush saying Putin's our friend. The cowboy who wants everyone to think he's tough seems to back off when it comes to "Putty-putt". And who can forget those photos of Russia's president out in the wilderness, shirtless, showing all the world he's a man?
Sort of makes George W. come off like a bit of a sissy.
Oh, yeah, the war's begun.
George Bush, Russia, Cold War, Vladimir Putin, Condoleeza Rice, Robert Gates, missile defense system
"I vaguely remember seeing commercials about Russian paratroopers stealing our fast food, Gorbachev meeting with ,"
His name was "Reagan." As Presidents go, he was pretty important. That must be a *really* vague memory. The rest of the article goes downhill from there.
The tension isn't about energy security - that's absurd, because Russia is RICH off its oil exports right now - it's about the same things our tension with Russia has always been about: international standing, sphere of influence, and ego. We wouldn't let Russia build a missile defense system in, oh, say, Cuba, so why should they like the idea of building missile defense in Poland?
As for the idea that the West left Russia on its own after the USSR collapsed, the World Bank might have something to say about that. A lot of money and advisors made it to Russia to help them build a new system. A desperately poor population not ready for capitalism did give rise to the oligarchs, but even they've been largely replaced by the State.
Anyway, the idea that Russia and the U.S. are already at war is pretty silly. Our relationship with Putin is no worse than our was with France under Chirac. The Cowboy diplomacy we've seen under Bush has let more rise to the surface, that's all.