Obama and Medvedev: in the global game of
three dimensional
Chess, President Obama makes
an excellent first move.
Financial Times Deutschland, Germany
Moscow, Tehran and Obama's
Bag of Tricks
"Obama's offer to abandon the
U.S. missile defense shield in Eastern Europe is a clever maneuver … the U.S.
President has turned the tables. … If Russia feels obliged to carry part of the
load, something significant will truly have been achieved."
EDITORIAL
Translated By Jonathan Lobsien
March 4, 2009
Germany - Financial Times Deutschland - Original
Article (German)
Up to now, little was known
about Barack Obama's foreign policy convictions. We knew that the new U.S.
President was more open to talks and other means of breaking with the taboos of
the previous government. But what precisely this meant has been largely unknown.
Now, Obama has made an offer
to Russia: the U.S. is willing to abandon its missile defense shield in Eastern Europe. For the
first time, one discerns something like a strategic direction. The offer to Russian
President Dmitry Medvedev is a clever maneuver, because it puts the Kremlin on
the spot. If the construction of an Iranian bomb could be prevented, according
to Obama's message, then the missile defense shield, so unloved by Moscow, would
no longer be necessary. And of course in achieving this goal, Russia has a
great deal to contribute.
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US
In this way, the new U.S.
government seeks to hit several birds with one stone. First, it would abandon a
project that is not dear to the hearts of U.S. Democrats. The defense shield is
expensive and it is doubtful whether technologically, it will ever be able to fulfill
its purpose. On the other hand, Obama rebuts official criticism from the
Kremlin that the stationing of missiles and radar systems in Poland and the
Czech Republic is a threat to its own defenses.
This case shows that Obama
has some excellent Russia experts on his team who have closely monitored the
Kremlin's diplomatic strategy over recent years. With his offer, the U.S. President
has turned the tables: it's no longer the Americans who threaten the security of
Europe - now it's up to Russia to contribute something to global security.
Obama's proposal helps bring
what is probably America's biggest foreign policy problem to the forefront: the
nuclear armament of Iran. In its recent report, The International Atomic Energy
Agency found that after some further processing, Tehran will possesses enough low-enriched
uranium to produce The Bomb.
This scenario not only fills Americans
with horror, it should also alarm Russia, the southern border of which is separated
from Iran by the Caucasus Mountains. Now there is growing pressure on Moscow to
clarify its position and participate in any future rounds of talks on sanctioning
Tehran.
How effective such
cooperation would be is admittedly uncertain. Up to now, neither threats nor
diplomatic efforts have gotten a serious response from Iran, which has
continued undaunted in pursuit of its nuclear program. The tendering of a new international
proposal isn't expected and would not be wise until after the Iranian
presidential election in June. But when the time comes, the Americans will need
every ally it has with connections to Tehran. If Russia feels obliged to carry
part of the load, something truly significant will truly have been achieved.
CLICK HERE FOR GERMAN VERSION
[Posted by WORLDMEETS.US March 5,
1:45pm]
