| Submit your comments on this article |
| Russia |
| Bush Leaving World in Better Shape than He Found it. |
| 2004-07-10 |
| Edited for length. THERE IS A tendency these days -- and I share it -- that urges one on to hit George Bush while he is down. But before he goes, permit me a word in his favor -- or, more accurately, his regime. Briefly put, the world is more at peace than when he came to power. The big powers have never been so relaxed with each other since the late part of the 19th century and the early years of the 20th, and the number of small wars -- ethnic disputes, tribal conflicts, and territorial disputes -- has been going down every year. Through all the vicissitudes of Iraq, the Bush administration has managed to keep relations with Russia at their calmest and most fruitful since before the Russian Revolution. Despite the earlier tensions over abrogating the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, Bush appears to have won the trust of President Vladimir Putin that he is not up to a game to overcome Russia’s defenses against a surprise nuclear attack. Neither has US oilpolitik in the Caspian region proved as malevolent as was first surmised. Bush has leaned over backward -- too far -- to be understanding about Chechnya. There are great gaps in Bush’s Russian policies -- his casual pace on nuclear disarmament and a lack of funds for making safe Russia’s old nukes and plutonium stockpiles, which could do more for nuclear proliferation than anything Bush has tried to do with Iraq, Iran, and North Korea -- but the lack of antagonism in the fundamental US-Russian relationship is remarkable. snip and this next is the corker... With the UN, despite early animosity, the United States has ended up supporting peacekeeping operations in a sustained way far more than Clinton ever did -- five operations in Africa in just the last year. And it has taken on the chin the recent vote in the Security Council not to acquiesce to the US desire for its troops in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere to be absolved from possible prosecution by the International Criminal Court. If Bush loses the election in November, he will be leaving the world -- Iraq and Israel/Palestine apart -- a better place than he found it. Whom to thank? Colin Powell or the left side of Bush’s own brain? The historians will have to tell us, since the press has conspicuously failed to keep us informed. |
| Posted by:badanov |
| #5 No, token conservative. Oh, same difference. Never mind... |
| Posted by: Raj 2004-07-10 2:00:11 PM |
| #4 yep |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-07-10 10:56:04 AM |
| #3 Token sane person? |
| Posted by: .com 2004-07-10 10:55:26 AM |
| #2 actually, Jeff Jacoby writes there - his stuff is first rate |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-07-10 10:52:27 AM |
| #1 Lol! Thx bad! Is there some kind of idiot test required to write for Boston.com? What a silly-assed collection of pure opinionated quips wrapped around some decent facts and a boatload of spun speculative reality. Approaches Al Jizz in its arrogant substitution of snide opinion for logical reasoning. The article's title and London-based little Jonathan's last sentence are the only things with which I roundly agree. Everything in-between is, well, substantially tainted. Quoting Ambrose Bierce in a book review: "The covers of this book are too far apart." Funny, the only time I visit Boston.com is when I read an article posted in Rantburg. Must be a reason... Better you than me, bad! |
| Posted by: .com 2004-07-10 9:52:49 AM |