Politics > Politics-USA > Georgie: "I looked the man in the eye....I was able to get a sense of his soul"
| Topic: |
Politics > Politics-USA |
| User: |
"Harry Hope" |
| Date: |
05 Jun 2007 10:06:19 AM |
| Object: |
Georgie: "I looked the man in the eye....I was able to get a sense of his soul" |
So now the world braces for an important meeting between Putin and
Bush, and this morning Bush, who is now in Prague, responded to a
question about how he would deal with growing tensions with Russia and
particularly with Russian concerns about the planned American missile
system: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-Bush.html?hp
Bush dismissed those concerns.
He said he will make his case directly to Russian President Vladimir
Putin later this week on the sidelines of the Group of Eight summit.
”My message will be Vladimir–I call him Vladimir–that you shouldn’t
fear a missile defense system,” Bush said.
”As a matter of fact, why don’t you cooperate with us on a missile
defense system. Why don’t you participate with the United States.”
Well, of course, we know from several sources that Bush’s nickname for
Putin is “Pooty-Poot.”
And we can have no doubt that Pooty-Poot will be impressed with this
overture.
We’re cruising towards another Cold War, and Bush, instead of
demonstrating intelligence and concern, appears utterly clueless.
This is going to be dangerous.
We’ve arrived at the point at which the James Bakers and Brent
Scowcrofts are indispensable–but they’ve been banished from a court in
which the jester sits as king.
http://harpers.org/archive/2007/06/hbc-90000235
June 5, 2007
BY Scott Horton
Back at the memorable joint press conference that President Bush gave
with Russian President Vladimir Putin at Brdo Castle, Slovenia on June
16, 2001, Bush uttered these immortal words in response to a question
about his impressions of Putin:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/06/20010618.html
“I will answer the question. I looked the man in the eye. I found
him to be very straightforward and trustworthy. We had a very good
dialogue. I was able to get a sense of his soul; a man deeply
committed to his country and the best interests of his country. And I
appreciated so very much the frank dialogue.”
Somehow, there’s something less than inspiring about the idea of the
ne’er-do-well son of a former American spymaster “looking into the
soul” of the world’s most famous former KGB agent.
It seemed bizarre.
But it has turned out to be very revealing–of Bush.
.........................................................................................................
Shall we compare Putin’s accomplishments with Bush’s?
That might be painful to rehearse.
But as Putin oversaw the rehabilitation of Russia, so Bush has
conducted a six-year demolition derby for America.
He inherited a paramount power in the world, enjoying unchallenged
prestige and power.
And after six years, he has brought American approval in the world to
its historical nadir.
His experiments in the Middle East have been catastrophic failures,
leading to the likely rise of a new regional hegemon: Iran.
The American military is a shambles, and his own former commander in
Iraq, Ricardo Sanchez, now speaks openly of “defeat.”
And America’s old claim of moral superiority, what has come of that?
Bush has proudly embraced the values and techniques of the
institutions with which Putin is associated–and indeed, it seems that
he has approved a number of techniques which are coarser, cruder still
than anything the NKVD or KGB used.
America’s “soul” has been dragged into the gutter.
Internally, Bush has challenged the Constitution and assumed a rule as
dictatorship–like Putin, in the end he finds the law to be a nuisance.
Bush’s soul, it turns out, is remarkably like Putin’s.
The difference between them is simple: competence.
Putin is unquestionably competent.
And the hallmark of team Bush is their gross incompetence in virtually
everything they touch.
So now the world braces for an important meeting between Putin and
Bush, and this morning Bush, who is now in Prague, responded to a
question about how he would deal with growing tensions with Russia and
particularly with Russian concerns about the planned American missile
system: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-Bush.html?hp
Bush dismissed those concerns.
He said he will make his case directly to Russian President Vladimir
Putin later this week on the sidelines of the Group of Eight summit.
”My message will be Vladimir–I call him Vladimir–that you shouldn’t
fear a missile defense system,” Bush said.
”As a matter of fact, why don’t you cooperate with us on a missile
defense system. Why don’t you participate with the United States.”
Well, of course, we know from several sources that Bush’s nickname for
Putin is “Pooty-Poot.”
And we can have no doubt that Pooty-Poot will be impressed with this
overture.
We’re cruising towards another Cold War, and Bush, instead of
demonstrating intelligence and concern, appears utterly clueless.
This is going to be dangerous.
We’ve arrived at the point at which the James Bakers and Brent
Scowcrofts are indispensable–but they’ve been banished from a court in
which the jester sits as king.
______________________________________________________
Harry
.
|
|
|
Related Articles |
|
|
