PNAC's on an anti-Russia kick now. So much oil, so many pipelines to be built and Putin the Inscrutable is refusing to roll over and play dead as Georgie tries to get the Caspian Sea part of his little empire in order. We need to start getting the American people to think that Putin's soul is dark and evil. Only a man with a dark and evil soul would write a letter to a, gasp, war crimes convict.
Soul searching at the summit: Bush and Putin take a close look at each other
"I LOOKED the man in the eye. I was able to get a sense of his soul." These were the words of President George Bush after his recent meeting with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin. Bush was immediately attacked by some members of Congress for this glib statement; former KGB officers like Putin are not meant to have souls, and most certainly not souls easily detected through just a cursory glance. Yet, in two respects, Bush was right. Getting a sense of Putin's soul is not equivalent to saying that one liked what one saw.
http://www.janes.com/regional_news/americas/news_briefs/fr010628_04.shtml===
Letter of 100 on Democracy in Russia, September 28, 2004An Open Letter to the Heads of State and Government
Of the European Union and NATO
September 28, 2004
(snip)
… we are deeply concerned that these tragic events are being used to further undermine democracy in Russia. Russia's democratic institutions have always been weak and fragile. Since becoming President in January 2000, Vladimir Putin has made them even weaker. He has systematically undercut the freedom and independence of the press, destroyed the checks and balances in the Russian federal system, arbitrarily imprisoned both real and imagined political rivals, removed legitimate candidates from electoral ballots, harassed and arrested NGO leaders, and weakened Russia's political parties. In the wake of the horrific crime in Beslan, President Putin has announced plans to further centralize power and to push through measures that will take Russia a step closer to authoritarian regime.
We are also
worried about the deteriorating conduct of Russia in its foreign relations. President Putin's foreign policy is
increasingly marked by a threatening attitude towards Russia's neighbors and Europe's energy security, the return of rhetoric of militarism and empire, and by a refusal to comply with Russia's international treaty obligations. In all aspects of Russian political life, the instruments of state power appear to be being rebuilt and the dominance of the security services to grow. We believe that this conduct cannot be accepted as the foundation of a true partnership between Russia and the democracies of NATO and the European Union.
These moves are only the latest evidence that the present Russian leadership is breaking away from the core democratic values of the Euro-Atlantic community. All too often in the past,
the West has remained silent and restrained its criticism in the belief that President Putin's steps in the wrong direction were temporary and the hope that Russia would soon return to a democratic and pro-Western path.
Western leaders continue to embrace President Putin in the face of growing evidence that the country is moving in the wrong direction and that his strategy for fighting terrorism is producing less and less freedom. We firmly believe dictatorship will not and cannot be the answer to Russia's problems and the very real threats it faces.
The
leaders of the West must recognize that our current strategy towards Russia is failing. Our policies have failed to contribute to the democratic Russia we wished for and the people of this great country deserve after all the suffering they have endured. It is time for us to rethink how and to what extent we engage with Putin's Russia and to put ourselves unambiguously on the side of democratic forces in Russia.
At this critical time in history when the West is pushing for democratic change around the world, including in the broader Middle East, it is imperative that we do not look the other way in assessing Moscow's behaviour or create a double standard for democracy in the countries which lie to Europe's East. We must speak the truth about what is happening in Russia. We owe it to the victims of Beslan and
the tens of thousands of Russian democrats who are still fighting to preserve democracy and human freedom in their country.
http://www.newamericancentury.org/russia-20040928.htm