belgareth
10-25-2004, 03:40 PM
I am oppossed to other countries being involved in our political process
and by the same token I am against the US being involved in other country's politics. The comments about who the
Russians support should be ignored other than the reasons they feel that way. What is said about the problems of the
Clinton Admin being involved in Russian politics is important in my opinion as is their concern about Kerry. This is
an area I'd like to see addressed by both candidates.
__________________________________________________ ________
Kremlin Expressing Support for Bush
By STEVE GUTTERMAN, Associated Press Writer
MOSCOW - Russia's
political elite has been showing a striking willingness to take sides in the U.S. election — most notably President
Vladimir Putin (news - web sites), whose expression of support for President Bush (news - web sites) reflects more
than the two leaders' warm relationship.
Analysts say it stems from
a deep distrust of U.S. Democrats, dating back to Jimmy Carter's focus on human rights violations in the Soviet
Union, and a Kremlin calculation that John Kerry (news - web sites) would be tougher on Putin.
Many Russians, including the current team in the Kremlin, have a
lingering bad taste from what they perceived as the Clinton administration's intense involvement in Russia's
political and economic life. Some saw it as a factor in the rampant corruption that afflicted Russia under Boris
Yeltsin and the economic collapse of 1998.
"The Russian leadership
very much wants Bush to win," said Fyodor Lukyanov, editor of a leading foreign affairs journal here. The Kremlin,
he said, fears a Kerry administration would pursue "a policy of active participation in Russia's internal affairs."
Putin, who last year lambasted Bush for attacking Iraq (news - web
sites), all but endorsed him outright last week, saying international terrorists will celebrate a victory if he
loses.
As Putin moves to consolidate power after shocking terror
attacks, pushing for electoral reforms criticized as a major step toward authoritarianism, the last thing he wants
is an intrusive new U.S. administration.
"To believe that under
Bush, Putin will have carte blanche — 'Do what you want inside Russia' — is unrealistic," Lukyanov said. "But Bush
is far less concerned by the question of democracy in Russia than Kerry."
Others, however, emphasize that it is not clear whether a Kerry administration would be tougher on Russia than
a second Bush administration. The situation will be difficult to gauge until next year, when the winning candidate
makes key appointments.
There are plenty of Russia hawks close to
Bush, said Michael McFaul, a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington. And
while Kerry's campaign rhetoric on Russia has been harsher than Bush's, he would be likely to be more compromising
as president than as a candidate, analysts say.
Bush was tough on
Russia in the 2000 campaign, saying Clinton was too soft on Yeltsin. But after his election, Bush eased up as he
pursued Putin's acquiescence on the creation of a national missile defense system — and, after Sept. 11, his
support in the war on terror.
Bush "criticized Clinton for being so
palsy-walsy with Yeltsin. He said, 'We won't have any of this Boris-Bill stuff,'" said Marshall Goldman,
associate director of Harvard's Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies. "Well, of course, now you've got
it: You've got George and Vladimir."
Despite some recent criticism,
which the Kremlin has dismissed as campaign posturing, Bush has sought Putin's support on issues including
terrorism, Iraq and Iran while paying little attention to events inside Russia — pleasing a president who craves
prestige on the world stage but is prickly about interference in his country's affairs.
While Putin has appeared to place his bets on the status quo, others
hope a change might charge up what many call stagnant U.S.-Russian ties.
Beyond talk of standing shoulder-to-shoulder against terrorism, there has been little concrete cooperation
since Russia offered support for the war in Afghanistan (news - web sites), McFaul said. While Moscow and Washington
have come closer on Iraq and the nuclear threat from Iran, discussions of Russian oil supplies to the United States
have borne little fruit.
Kremlin critics here, meanwhile, say Russia
would benefit from more White House pressure.
"I am certain that
this refusal to criticize the actions of the Russian authorities in Chechnya (news - web sites) and in the sphere of
human rights as a whole, for the sake of good relations and joint actions against terrorism, is a mistake," said
Lyudmila Alexeyeva, a prominent Russian human rights activist.
Fiona
Hill, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, said that to make progress on democracy in Russia, the winning
candidate will have to address "how one engages with an increasingly rigid Russia."
and by the same token I am against the US being involved in other country's politics. The comments about who the
Russians support should be ignored other than the reasons they feel that way. What is said about the problems of the
Clinton Admin being involved in Russian politics is important in my opinion as is their concern about Kerry. This is
an area I'd like to see addressed by both candidates.
__________________________________________________ ________
Kremlin Expressing Support for Bush
By STEVE GUTTERMAN, Associated Press Writer
MOSCOW - Russia's
political elite has been showing a striking willingness to take sides in the U.S. election — most notably President
Vladimir Putin (news - web sites), whose expression of support for President Bush (news - web sites) reflects more
than the two leaders' warm relationship.
Analysts say it stems from
a deep distrust of U.S. Democrats, dating back to Jimmy Carter's focus on human rights violations in the Soviet
Union, and a Kremlin calculation that John Kerry (news - web sites) would be tougher on Putin.
Many Russians, including the current team in the Kremlin, have a
lingering bad taste from what they perceived as the Clinton administration's intense involvement in Russia's
political and economic life. Some saw it as a factor in the rampant corruption that afflicted Russia under Boris
Yeltsin and the economic collapse of 1998.
"The Russian leadership
very much wants Bush to win," said Fyodor Lukyanov, editor of a leading foreign affairs journal here. The Kremlin,
he said, fears a Kerry administration would pursue "a policy of active participation in Russia's internal affairs."
Putin, who last year lambasted Bush for attacking Iraq (news - web
sites), all but endorsed him outright last week, saying international terrorists will celebrate a victory if he
loses.
As Putin moves to consolidate power after shocking terror
attacks, pushing for electoral reforms criticized as a major step toward authoritarianism, the last thing he wants
is an intrusive new U.S. administration.
"To believe that under
Bush, Putin will have carte blanche — 'Do what you want inside Russia' — is unrealistic," Lukyanov said. "But Bush
is far less concerned by the question of democracy in Russia than Kerry."
Others, however, emphasize that it is not clear whether a Kerry administration would be tougher on Russia than
a second Bush administration. The situation will be difficult to gauge until next year, when the winning candidate
makes key appointments.
There are plenty of Russia hawks close to
Bush, said Michael McFaul, a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington. And
while Kerry's campaign rhetoric on Russia has been harsher than Bush's, he would be likely to be more compromising
as president than as a candidate, analysts say.
Bush was tough on
Russia in the 2000 campaign, saying Clinton was too soft on Yeltsin. But after his election, Bush eased up as he
pursued Putin's acquiescence on the creation of a national missile defense system — and, after Sept. 11, his
support in the war on terror.
Bush "criticized Clinton for being so
palsy-walsy with Yeltsin. He said, 'We won't have any of this Boris-Bill stuff,'" said Marshall Goldman,
associate director of Harvard's Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies. "Well, of course, now you've got
it: You've got George and Vladimir."
Despite some recent criticism,
which the Kremlin has dismissed as campaign posturing, Bush has sought Putin's support on issues including
terrorism, Iraq and Iran while paying little attention to events inside Russia — pleasing a president who craves
prestige on the world stage but is prickly about interference in his country's affairs.
While Putin has appeared to place his bets on the status quo, others
hope a change might charge up what many call stagnant U.S.-Russian ties.
Beyond talk of standing shoulder-to-shoulder against terrorism, there has been little concrete cooperation
since Russia offered support for the war in Afghanistan (news - web sites), McFaul said. While Moscow and Washington
have come closer on Iraq and the nuclear threat from Iran, discussions of Russian oil supplies to the United States
have borne little fruit.
Kremlin critics here, meanwhile, say Russia
would benefit from more White House pressure.
"I am certain that
this refusal to criticize the actions of the Russian authorities in Chechnya (news - web sites) and in the sphere of
human rights as a whole, for the sake of good relations and joint actions against terrorism, is a mistake," said
Lyudmila Alexeyeva, a prominent Russian human rights activist.
Fiona
Hill, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, said that to make progress on democracy in Russia, the winning
candidate will have to address "how one engages with an increasingly rigid Russia."