Why Russia, China, and Others, Love 'Poking America in the Eye' (Gazeta, Russia)
"Needless to say, in Russia and China, both the population
and the authorities happily enjoy the wide range of 'hateful” achievements of American
culture, from Hollywood blockbusters to McDonald's. One can only imagine how
Russia would have reacted had an FSB agent, who had dealt a similar blow to the
Russian secret service, arrived in the United States. ... This attitude toward
the United States reveals the objective power of that country. Only the truly
strong are so widely hated. Only those who really amount to something warrant
such annoyance."
Implacable: Russian President Vladimir Putin will not play ball on Edward Snowden, pointedly refusing to hinder his voyage to a third country. Snowden is spending his second day in Moscow's international airport.
The
story of the world travels of fugitive CIA contractor Edward Snowden shows how
strong the dislike for the planet's central power is. Moreover, this dislike is
demonstrated not only by outcast rogue states, but by those which claim roles
as players on an international scale.
On
Sunday, June 23rd, fugitive CIA contractor Edward Snowden, the hero of the
global news over the past few days who leaked classified information, arrived
in Moscow from Hong Kong. According to unofficial information, while still
aboard the plane approaching Moscow, he supposedly booked a seat on a
Moscow-Havana flight and received a boarding pass.
Later,
it was reported that the fugitive may be welcomed by Ecuador, as it had already
provided safe haven to Julian Assange, founder of the notorious portal WikiLeaks.
It was with the assistance of WikiLeaks that Snowden was able to find refuge in
Hong Kong, which, in turn, could not have happened without the assistance of
Chinese and Hong Kong authorities. Assange has publicly vowed to help Snowden
find refuge in a “genuinely democratic” country, naming the aforementioned
Ecuador and Venezuela as possible candidates. Duma Communist
Party deputy Leonid Kalashnikov stated outright, that Belarus - not without
Russia’s help, would shelter Snowden. So far, however, Snowden has yet to leave
for Havana, and by all appearances remains in the transit zone at Sheremetyevo International Airport.
In
any case, Russia has found itself in the company of countries that have clearly
decided to stir up trouble for America on this particular occasion, unafraid of
serving as a political offshore zone for the fugitive American secret service
contractor.
This
group of countries does not only include political dwarf Ecuador or that world
center of vulgar socialism - thanks to Hugo Chavez - Venezuela (which doesn't prevent
it from regularly receiving American aid), but also China, which has every
opportunity to carry out a truly independent foreign policy. Russian authorities
at first claimed, via presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov,
that they knew nothing of Snowden’s whereabouts in Moscow, and have since
stopped commenting on the situation. In any case, judging by the nature of the
Russian-American relations, it is hard to imagine Russian authorities
extraditing Snowden to the U.S. - although they might try to exchange him.
Snowden
organized a leak of information about American intelligence activities, specifically
in regard to their surveillance of all mobile communications on the Verizon
network, as well as its secret e-mail tracking program. On June 14th, Snowden
was charged with crimes that carry the threat of a multi-year prison sentence. One
can only imagine how Russia would have reacted had an FSB agent, who had dealt
a similar blow to the Russian secret service, arrived in the United States.
Posted By Worldmeets.US
The
attitude of Russia (as well as China, Ecuador, Venezuela, and dozens of other
countries) toward the U.S. was quite accurately expressed by New York Senator Chuck
Schumer in a CNN interview, “The
bottom line is very simple: allies are supposed to treat each other in decent
ways and Putin always seems almost eager to put a finger in the eye of the
United States, whether it is Syria, Iran and now of course with Snowden.”
Thispurely emotional impulse to “put a finger in
the eye of the United States,” exhibited by many countries, including Russia,
coexists with respectable political discussions within the "Big 8" or
"Big 20." Needless to say, in Russia and China, both the population
and the authorities happily enjoy the wide range of “hateful” achievements of American
culture, from Hollywood blockbusters to McDonald's. Russia, to the constant refrain
of anti-American rhetoric, even borrows the techniques and formats of American
politics - from primaries, conducted by United Russia, to Putin’s use of the
quintessential American political image of a “average Joe” when interacting
with the public.
This
attitude toward the United States reveals the objective power of that country.
Only the truly strong are so widely hated. Only those who really amount to
something warrant such annoyance. To that point, Russia under Putin actively
and consciously seeks to provoke fear and hatred through its domestic and
foreign policies. What would be the use of doing something to annoy Ecuador? No
one would ever notice ...
