Visit our website: HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------------------------- USA Today September 20, 2001 Tragedy can tighten U.S., Russian ties By Dusko Doder It is a moment shot through with heart-wrenching ironies. America and Russia -- or at least the former Soviet Union -- did not fight in the traditional way during the Cold War. But they did engage in a fierce proxy war in Afghanistan. That war was largely responsible for the communist superpower's unraveling. Could Afghanistan again become a focal point in the two countries' complex relationship? One where they finally find common cause? That seems perfectly possible -- providing this week's meetings of top government officials of the two countries are successful. Russian President Vladimir Putin already has endorsed America's call for a global coalition against terrorism. He has made noises about possibly joining an allied military action in Afghanistan, refuge of the main suspect in the terrorist attacks, Osama bin Laden. Words, of course, are not actions. Putin had insisted that a thorough investigation precede any military action; his defense minister, Sergei Ivanov, had opposed Western "troop presence" in former Soviet Central Asia. Their real calculations will emerge later. But it seems entirely possible that Russian-American relations now could shift into a more productive groove -- despite the ironies. The Russians, after all, invaded Afghanistan in 1979 to provide "fraternal aid" to a communist puppet regime against Islamic rebels. The United States took the side of the rebels. Guess who was a main rebel leader trained and supported by the United States? None other than bin Laden. The Russian war in Afghanistan devastated Soviet society and its economy. It sparked an Islamic revival in Soviet Central Asia. More than any single event, it led to the unraveling of the Soviet empire, leaving Russia with perpetual instability on its southern borders. To Moscow, the Sept. 11 catastrophe may lend credence to Putin's claim that his own war in Chechnya is a struggle against Muslim radicals with roots in Afghanistan. An American-Russian action against bin Laden and his followers in Afghanistan could be part of a cooperative effort that might engender the trust that has been missing. Russia has extensive intelligence on Afghanistan. Moscow maintains military bases near Afghan borders in the former Soviet republics of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan; it also has a motorized division deployed on the Tajik side of the Tajik-Afghan border. Russia's cooperation, especially providing Western allies access to these military facilities, could prove crucial if the United States decides to take military action against the Taliban government hosting the Islamic terrorists. The other aspect is even more important: the danger of a terrorist group acquiring nuclear or biological weapons. The Sept. 11 attack makes amply clear that there are people so blinded by their cause that they would do anything in its name. Since the collapse of communism, Russia has been awash in nuclear materials -- and in scientists with the know-how for making weapons of mass destruction. The American officials now in Moscow need to use their meetings with Russian leaders to try to forge a new dialogue. In particular, they need to soothe Russian feathers ruffled during recent months as the United States threatened to proceed unilaterally with plans to build an anti-missile shield. And the U.S. delegation should look for ways to proceed jointly in the new anti-terrorism war. One of the key ingredients of success in the 1991 Gulf War was the ability of George Bush, the president's father, to persuade Kremlin leader Mikhail Gorbachev to join the anti-Iraq coalition. The struggle against terrorism is, of course, a very different kind of war, likely to be more complex and more protracted than the first President Bush's conventional war against Iraq. The possibility of nuclear terrorism must be considered and appropriate measures taken to protect the United States. But we must recognize that no amount of money can prevent future terrorist attacks if this is not backed up by skillful diplomacy. Putin, a former secret police agent, has shown himself during the past 2 years to be a pragmatic politician. Russia, in his view, has nothing to gain from a confrontation with the United States. He has inherited a country experiencing a dramatic decline in living standards, its economy in shambles. He needs time to reform Russia's financial and tax systems, create an orderly society and rebuild the machinery of state power. His country's economic revival is to a great extent dependent on closer ties with the West. Putin also believes that Russia is, and must remain, a great power. Its great-power status is now based solely on its nuclear strike force. He had felt threatened by the plans for the missile-defense shield. But, as Sept. 11's tragedy demonstrated, the international climate can change overnight. The war on global terrorism -- a phenomenon that knows no geographic limits -- will need a new approach, including the skillful diplomatic forging of a new alliance. One important part of that: finding a new common cause for Russia and the United States. Dusko Doder is the author of several books on Russia, including Gorbachev: Heretic in the Kremlin and Shadows and Whispers: Power Politics Inside the Kremlin from Brezhnev to Gorbachev. ------------------------------------------------- This Discussion List is the follow-up for the old stopnato @listbot.com that has been shut down ==^================================================================ EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9spWA Or send an email To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] This email was sent to: archive@jab.org T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
