Make Up Your Mind Putin!

A resurgent Russia under the fine leadership of Vladimir Putin is set to take on American hegemony on the world stage. Of course we’ve been told this for several years, and just recently Jephraim P Gundzik of the Asia Times Online has spouted the same nonsense. All the signs are there: Russia is building closer ties to China, Syria, Iran – all of which are adversaries of the US. Of course Gundzik tries to make it sound like as if this is something new. Anybody who has followed Russian foreign policy developments for some time knows that it is not. This was a key element to Putin’s foreign policy during the early part of his presidency. Of course then the world changed on 9/11. Putin went from being the main geo-political challenger to the US, to being its closest geo-political ally. Putin certainly had no problems allowing American forces to be stationed in Central Asia as it prepared to attack Afghanistan. Gundzik actually admits Putin’s staunch support for Bush’s “War on Terrorism”, but began to have second thoughts once the war turned to Iraq. Really? Putin did voice some opposition to Bush’s planned war in Iraq, but was relatively mute when compared to the French.

Putin along with aides did voice concern over NATO expansion into the Baltic States back in March 2004. Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov voiced similar concerns in August 2004, concerning NATO air patrols over the three Baltic countries. Yet for some reason Putin had no problems endorsing Bush in the last presidential elections just a few months later. A further irony is that Putin’s endorsement came a month before Russia and the US came to blows over the election in Ukraine.

It’s quite clear to any fool that Bush’s administration has set a course of confrontation with Russia, so much so that even some Americans are beginning to voice concern how this could lead to a new Cold War. Why Putin went so much out of his way in trying to appease this administration is anybody’s guess. Maybe now Putin has discovered the obvious truth, but that’s only the best-case scenario.

So basically it seems that Putin wishes to return to the same foreign policy (or at least something closely resembling it) he pursued before 9/11. Problem is, the geo-political situation is much different now for Russia. American forces are stationed on its southern wing in Central Asia, and are set to set up bases in Georgia in the Caucasus. America has taken out one of Russia’s possible allies in Iraq. Not to mention NATO has expanded into the Baltic, right on Russia’s borders. Ukraine itself has made known its intentions to join NATO. So if Putin really wants Russia to challenge US hegemony, I’d say he’s got quite a lot of work ahead of himself. Right now America clearly has the upper hand in this fight. Putin needs to make up his mind once and for all, is Russia going to challenge American hegemony or is it going to fully endorse it. Russia has already paid dearly on the geo-political stage for Putin’s continual sucking up to the US. So much so that John Laughland even nicknamed the Russian president Putin the Poodle .