I thought Washington Post and NYT are outlandish when it comes to Russian politics. Well, in comparison with second pier American newspapers they should be called beacons of objectivity. Here's an editorial from Miami Herald (aka Sochinskaya Zvezda) called "Russia under Putin reverts to old habitsOUR OPINION: BLAME FOR ICY RELATIONS RESTS WITH RUSSIAN LEADER".
It has seemed like old times lately, what with the United States and Russia taking potshots at each other like the Cold War adversaries they once were. No one welcomes a return to that era, but let's put the blame squarely where it belongs -- on the shoulders of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In his state of the union speech this week, Mr. Putin lashed out at the United States for criticism over his human-rights record. Instead of denying it, he adopted the ''so's your old man'' defense by claiming the United States is in no position to criticize anyone on this topic.
Delirium! Putin didn’t even mention the US in his speech. Calling his sarcastic remark about ‘comrade wolf’ who knows whom to it “lashing out” is not just over-reaction. It’s clinical paranoia.
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
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6 comments:
Konstantin, another one of your thoughtful posts.
I thought you may be interested in this International Herald Tribune article called "Putin versus Cheney"; it mentions some of the points you wrote in a previous post, yet your post is much more interesting and thoughtful!
http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/05/11/opinion/edlieven.php
You are right about this increasing, one-sided BASELESS Paranoia that we have been watching lately. What surprises me is that the USA does not lack enemies to invent them; and it has been doing really well in adding more countries to its” evil states list”! Well, it seems that adding Russia to a somehow-evil-yet-not-an-enemy list looks really "prestigious" and serious in the eye of the American public. Just look at it, the favorite topic for American officials, once they get bored talking about Iran, the "blooming future" of Iraq, or Syria’s troublemaker regime has become to attack Russia and lecture Russians on how to manage their country.
Of course, Oil-Rich Saudi Arabia or Kazakhstan, both, get the least share of lectures; they even get blessed every now and then. Amazing how far hypocrisy can go!
How meaningless and absurd it has become to hear Condoleezza Rice or Cheney (who decides every now and then to take a sudden break from his bunker to shoot someone or to lecture someone else :) talking about Democracy. Such officals have deprived the word democracy from its meaning and have been using it as a stick to wave in the face of those they dislike or those who dare to have an independent and different political agenda! It's sad that this word has become a synonym of hypocrisy and interference in other countries' affairs.
Well, I think Ivan Z. has over reacted himself.
Whenever our State Department officials express any concern about Russia, it's only a hope they don't revert to Stalinist policies.
As you may well appreciate, no one benefitted under his government, least of all Russians.
As for myself, and as you can see from past blog entries, I see no reason Russia and America should be adversaries.
hbl,
Being misinformed is your private choice, and that is fine. However, such concerns at the State Department level are just moronic -- those folks should know better.
I think that making a law kicking out foreign NGOs and disallowing foreign money is a pretty good step towards tightening down on a country's civil society. Also, anon, you act as if Putin's comments weren't directed at the US, which they clearly were.
WOW GOLD, nice blog. its worth reading. I liked it very much
Very Nice And Interesting Post
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