Obama and the Kremlin: Is the newcomer ahead of the game?
Les Dernières Nouvelles d’Alsace, France
Obama 'One Card
Ahead' of Moscow and Tehran. Clever!
"The
East Europeans suffered so much from Soviet domination, anything which defies
the Kremlin makes them happy - which is why Warsaw and Prague welcomed Bush's
project."
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev: Will Russia help President Obama deal with Iran's nuclear program? It is on this basis that his decision to scrap the East European anti-missile shield will be measured.
Barack Obama's abandonment
of the anti-missile system George Bush wanted to deploy in Poland and the Czech
Republic is an important decision.
Apart from for the
competition with China and the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, the decision focuses
directly on the main diplomatic issues that Obama must confront: relations with
the European allies; relations with Russia; attitudes toward Iran; the evaluation
of the threats that weigh on the United States; and the size of the U.S. defense
budget.
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US
Moscow has never digested
the fact that Poland and other “fraternal lands” that were once tied to the
Kremlin are now armed and equipped by the NATO camp. The shield that Bush
dreamed of was a major dispute. The renunciation of this project inevitably delights
the Russians, eager to see threats in all that occurs along their border, and, via
satellite, above their heads.
France and Germany, mindful
of ensuring that the United States doesn't see Europe as a protectorate, have also
saluted Obama’s decision. In this, they differ from the former “East European
satellite” countries that joined the European Union in 2004, which are very
disappointed by what they see as allegiance to Moscow. They suffered so much
from Soviet domination, anything that defies the Kremlin makes them happy - which
is why Warsaw and Prague welcomed Bush’s project.
Obama’s reasoning is based
on the conviction that Iran is incapable of developing long-range missiles. No
need to panic. So it's better to use this sensitive issue to calm the
international game.
The first amicable response of sorts came
as soon as yesterday: Russia has abandoned its plan to install Iskander Missiles in the
enclave of Kaliningrad, which
Russia governs in the middle of the European Union [Kaliningrad is located
between Poland and Lithuania on the Baltic Sea. See map, left]. On the other
hand, there is no understanding that the Kremlin will renounce arms sales to
Iran or be willing to sanction the country when its provocations hardly disturb
it.
In the end,
the White House gamble is quite a reasonable one. If later, Russia doesn't
respond to his outstretched hand, Obama will have lost nothing. But what Obama will
have is an objective reason to toughen his policy if Russia decides to go it
alone in Caucasusor is uncooperative in Afghanistan. Taking the
first step isn't the worst way to get a rival to be more understanding.
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US
If in addition it helps
eliminate an extremely expensive project with uncertain effectiveness, so much
the better. Only fans of military escalation will cry heresy.
For now, Obama is one card
ahead of Moscow and Tehran. Clever!
