President Bush went into a meeting this morning with former U.S. and Soviet officials this morning, including former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and former Soviet Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov.
The White House announced the meeting this morning, and originally said it would take place this afternoon.
White House spokesman Tony Fratto said that the stated reason for the meeting was that it is "an opportunity for the president to hear the views of these respected statesmen on a number of issues important to the United States and Russia."
But Mr. Kissinger and Mr. Primakov head up a working group on U.S.-Russian relations made up of former officials in both governments. The group was formed in April after both leaders met in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who supported the idea.
Sarah Mendelson, a Russia expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the group is a way for Mr. Putin to maintain contact with the Bush administration while continuing to close off contact with the U.S. inside his country.
"Putin wants a funnel system where he has contact with a very few senior folks repeatedly and that's where he’s getting his idea of what policy is going to be, and then he wants to cut off contact for everybody else," Ms. Mendelson said.
It's interesting to point out that with this group, Mr. Putin is operating independently of the Bush White House. He can initiate contact, through this group, with any of the presidential candidates and pick right up with the next president where he left off with Mr. Bush.
The reason the Kremlin is cutting off contact with outsiders for normal Russian citizens, Ms. Mendelson said, is because Mr. Putin is "actively fostering anti-American sentiment and anti-British sentiment."
"It's an old tactic to divert attention away from the fact that institutions at home barely function," Ms. Mendelson said.
— Jon Ward, White House correspondent, The Washington Times
Comments (3)
Kissinger and his fourth reich have caused so much war with their policies. No wonder they live in Brazil. Ever wonder why the northern hemisphere is in prepetual war and the southern is a place of peace?
It's time to see and realize what the Kissinger, Wolfowitz, Haig, Eagleberger, Rumsfeld, Busch et al mean to history. War.
Posted by Jason Reed | January 19, 2008 1:27 PM
Response to Jason Reed
Its funny you lump a number of prominent neo-cons in the same boat as a number of prominent realists. While the former may me a bit heavy on the trigger finger, people like Kissinger and Eagleberger are far removed and are very hesitant about the use of force, often espousing real-politik and accommodating views with the realization in mind that diplomacy - even with one's "rivals and enemies" can best achieve desired means.
As far as your "northern / southern hemisphere" quip, it would be more proper to note that what you say could not be farther from the truth. One could indeed argue that the "southern hemisphere" is still busy figuring itself out, while the northern - the US and Europe in particular, have for the most part achieved this and are trying to bring a measure of stability as best they see fit to more unstable parts of the world. (Their success / lack thereof is another mater)It might be more proper to argue that the "south" is either "not interested" or "uncapable" of intervening in world affars, but to label it a "place of peace" is a far leap.
I'm not one to respond to these things often, but I recommend an intro course on intl relations, history, or political science before you decide to respond yourself.
Posted by Dan Feferman | January 22, 2008 4:35 AM
Ground War Folly
Bush and Kissinger foolishly let an angry rich boy named Osama -- who wanted to be relgious sultan of his home country -- set the world defence agenda: Hot War.
Reagan, by contrast, is revered because he won the Cold War.
Reagan showed the Communists a map from East Europe to the Sea of Japan, and told the Soviets "Make My Day". Then with that clear, alternately he wooed them and cajoled them.
The Soviets, in time, collapsed of their own incompetence.
Bush and Kissinger just need to draw a crayon line arund all the Muslim Republics from Morrocco to Indonesia and then say: "Go Ahead, Make Our Day."
In Reagan's time it was the USSR. Today it's the UMR. United Muslim Republics: united by us a potential spots of nuke-terrorist incubation.
With the crayon line drawn, we again stand back, and this time get out of Mullahs way.
Let them govern and eventually collapse of their own incompetence.
Kissinger. Bush. Ground War fools.
So, Washington Times readers?
Are we Cold War winners, who choose war that plays to our strengths?
Or Hot War fools who get suckered into wars that plays to our enemies' strengths?
Posted by dwight | January 22, 2008 8:46 AM