US Fooling Itself Over Russia, Says Think Tank
US Fooling Itself Over Russia, Says Think Tank
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The Bush Administration should stop pretending Russia is a genuine strategic partner and adopt a new policy of "selective co-operation" and "selective opposition" to the authoritarian government of President Vladimir Putin.
In a grim assessment of the recent "downward trajectory" under Mr Putin, the Council of Foreign Relations said that in Russia democracy is in retreat, corruption on the rise and the Kremlin an increasing obstacle to US interests. The goodwill that developed between President George Bush and Mr Putin, particularly after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, has eroded, the bipartisan task force said in a new report.
"Russian-American relations are clearly headed in the wrong direction," it said. "Contention is crowding out consensus. The very idea of 'strategic partnership' no longer seems realistic".
John Edwards, a former Democrat senator who co-chaired the taskforce with Republican former housing secretary Jack Kemp, said the Administration has shied away from addressing Mr Putin's behaviour.
"What they've done is focused on the positive things Russia is doing and been soft on the problems," Mr Edwards said.
The report crystallises a growing reassessment of Russia in Washington five years after Mr Bush first met Mr Putin and "looked into his soul", as the President put it at the time. Rather than champion democracy and Western values, the former KGB colonel has moved to reassert control over Russian society and eliminate opposition.
There has also been concern about Russian manoeuvring to force US troops out of Central Asia, Moscow's use of energy exports as a weapon against smaller neighbours, and Mr Putin's reaching out to Hamas, the radical group that won the recent Palestinian elections.
Uncertainty about Russia has touched off a debate within the Administration between those who favour a harder line and those who advocate a constructive relationship.
Russia's expected hosting of this year's Group of Eight summit has exacerbated concerns. Some also are questioning whether Russia belongs in the club of the world's leading industrial democracies.
