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My personal musings about anything that gets on my radar screen--heavily dominated by politics.

2006-07-09

Our Friends, The Russians

Two articles from the morning's WashTimes should get your attention.

The first, showing Russian willingness to be complicit in our current crisis with North Korea.

Russia secretly offered to sell North Korea technology that could help the rogue state protect nuclear stockpiles and safeguard weapons secrets from international scrutiny,

The second, bringing up ongoing efforts by Vladimir Putin to enlarge his reach and control over every aspect of Russian life.

Alongside his drive to re-establish Kremlin control over the nation's political life, Mr. Putin aggressively has reasserted state domination over major economic sectors -- in part by installing members of his own team, many dating back to his days in St. Petersburg, into key positions in some major state-controlled companies. . . .

The list of government officials doubling as captains of industry goes on, reflecting deeply intertwined state and business interests. Mr. Putin's influence in so many industries raises questions about whether politics won't trump economics in the end when business decisions are made.

Two things: one, of all the things President Bush has said that don't make much sense (and, come on, syntax isn't exactly his strong suit), the one he should regret most is "I've seen his soul, and I trust" President Putin.

And, two, any further effort to get Russia to work alongside us to resolve crises such as NoKo and Iran will obviously center around economics. But to expect them to do the right thing, seeing them as ideological allies united because of their Chechen problem, is foolish.
Posted by: Michael / 7/09/2006 12:50:00 AM

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