TRUST -- VIRTUE OR BAD GAMBLE FOR THE U.S.?
January 11, 2004
By Toby Westerman
Copyright 2004 International News Analysis Today
www.inatoday.com
The administration of U.S. President George W. Bush is adopting an attitude of increasing trust of the promises and statements coming from Moscow and its political elite.
President Bush has looked into the soul of Russian President Vladimir Putin and found – not a skilled KGB spymaster – but a helpful friend. National Security advisor Condoleezza Rice, who speaks Russian fluently, expresses similar confidence in Moscow. Putin frequently refers to Russia being a "partner" with the United States in the war on terror, and few in the U.S. government appear willing to cast doubt upon the reality of U.S.-Russian cooperation.
That cooperation is about to take a giant leap forward, according to recent press reports. America's Federal Bureau of Investigation is ready to sign a "memorandum of understanding" with the Russian internal spy service, known by the letters FSB (once a division of the feared KGB).
The level of cooperation and sharing of sensitive materials will be on an unprecedented level, according to the reports.
The FSB, which may have access to raw FBI files and exposure to FBI methodology,
is the same Russian espionage organization accused of
destroying several apartment buildings and killing some
300 people in order to give the Putin government a reason
to restart the war against the rebel Chechens.
Those charges appear in a Russian book bluntly titled "The FSB Blows Up Russia."
While defenders of the FSB consider the charges unsubstantiated, the FSB itself seems to take the accusations quite seriously.
In a move reminiscent of Soviet-era tactics, the FSB confiscated 4,000 copies of the book as they were being imported from Latvia into Russia.
Moscow's conduct of its foreign policy, confusing and contradictory at best, also raises serious questions about the dependability of our "partner" in the war on terror.
U.S. officials have found evidence supporting suspicions that Russia sold now-deposed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein night vision equipment, radar jammers, and anti-tank missiles, according to a just released article from the Los Angeles Times.
An unnamed official stated that the Russian sale of hi-tech weaponry to Iraq "did not do much for strengthening trust" between Russia and the United States.
The Russian sale of sophisticated weaponry to Iraq, however, should not surprise anyone. Saddam's regime received consistent aid from Moscow beginning in the Soviet era and continuing through the establishment of the Russian governments of Boris Yeltsin and Vladimir Putin.
Moscow always considered Saddam as Iraq's legitimate and even "elected" leader. Russia was Iraq's most important trading ally until the fall of Saddam's regime.
Saddam, however, was only one of many petty tyrants and Communist rulers which Moscow counts as not only allies, but also close friends.
Our "partner" in the war on terror is on the closest of terms with the deadly oddball despot in North Korea, as well as Castro's dictatorship in Cuba. Moscow is the main force behind Communist China's impressive modernization of its armed forces.
The sale to Iraq of a relatively small amount of weaponry pales in comparison to Moscow's support of every nation hostile to the United States.
Internally, Russia is no model of democratic government. Its own citizens question the validity of national elections, while the mass media is controlled by the government. Moscow also gives every indication of reverting to its Soviet past, as Stalin's secret police are again honored, and the Russian military – one of the few solid institutions in present day Russia – continues to use Soviet-era insignia.
Still, highest officials in the Bush administration continue to regard Moscow as a close friend and indispensable ally in the war on terror.
America must ask if we can afford such an ally. Can we afford a "partner" in the war on terror who appears to be in sympathy with those who hate us?
It is time to re-examine our approach to the Moscow elite, and reject trust as a dangerous gamble, a threat to our national safety.
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