The Russian Problem

Posted by Craig

As you are probably well aware, Bush returned home from Europe. And although I could discuss all the good and hope that came from this tour, I want to focus on one event. That event is the visit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

President Bush decided to take this time to meet with the Putin and discuss a wide array of topics, but to make certain to discuss democracy. Bush has placed democracy high on his “to do” list for this term, and this includes Russia. And although Bush was prepared to be met with opposition from Putin regarding democratic reforms, he was surprised from a rebuttal ushered from the Russian President. Bush offered praise at the lengths the Russians had made, but told Putin that the media needs to be fair and free to usher in a working democracy. Putin fired back, “we didn't criticize you when you fired those reporters at CBS."

Bush was left openmouthed. He responded by saying that the government had nothing to do with the firing, but that the viewers had the voice to enact change. "Putin thought we'd fired Dan Rather," says a senior Administration official. "It was like something out of 1984." Some analysts believe that Putin has long been fed misleading information concerning the United States for sometime. The question is, are these aides that inform Putin not knowledgeable of the American system, or is there a bigger problem with them trying to mislead the Russian President on purpose?

Russia is a quagmire of hope and fear. Their attempts at a democratic Russia are moving slowly. In fact, opposition groups in the Communist Party are starting to grab more clout with the public. With Putin unaware of how the United States actually operates, or thinking that they operate the same as Russia, Putin will not force new and much needed changes. It was obvious that Putin, as well as several of the media members that questioned Bush afterwards about the CBS story, are truly oblivious to how American media work.

I have been a opponent of our media for sometime now. But one thing I do applaud them on is their ability to think for themselves. They may lean to the left, in my opinion, but they take orders from no politician. Open media, however slanted, is important in a democracy. It enables conversation, rebuttals, and dialogue. In Russian's case, a media controlled by the governemnt only reports what that governemnt wants you to hear. This also goes for aides of leades. Unless leaders are given the right information from aides, advisors or other gropus, they cannot make correct choices. I could draw comparisons to the Bush administration and their lack of correctly given intelligence, but I may leave that for my colleague.

Putin has his hands full in Russia, from the rebels in Chechnya, to a fledgling democracy. Having aides that either cannot or will not inform him correctly could seriously undermine the work of the past 16 years in bringing democracy to that region. Bush has another meeting with Putin in two months to celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the end of WWII. It will be Bush’s responsibility to prove, to not only Russian but the world, that he is offering to all his hand in the spread of freedom and democracy by leading Putin out of the cold Russian air and into the warmth of friendship and democracy with the United States.