Russia As An Ally?

I am not sure what presidency Barack Obama is running for. He seems to want to protect every other country in the world’s rights, while laying ours aside. He is like the parent who is more concerned about the neighbor’s kid’s well-being than that of his own.

In his latest appeasement, the Democratic Nominee argued that Russia should not be excluded from the G8, as John McCain suggested. During a CNN interview, Obama stated that Russia was a needed ally in the fight against nuclear proliferation. “Without Russia’s cooperation,” Obama said that, “our efforts on that (stopping proliferation of nuclear materials and technical knowhow) will be greatly weekend” (Reuters, July 12, 08).

The question that arises is this, What has Russia done over the past eight years to stop nuclear proliferation? NOTHING! While we have been fighting a two-pronged war against terrorism and the spread of “weapons of mass destruction” through that war, Russia has actually aided Iran in developing their nuclear program.

“WHEN Russia announced it had started shipping low-enriched uranium fuel to power the civilian nuclear reactor it is helping Iran build at Bushehr, George Bush tried to squeeze some comfort out of a piece of news which—for the international effort to curb Iran's nuclear ambitions—was a disappointing about-turn. “If the Iranians accept that [Russian] uranium for a civilian power plant, then there's no need for them to learn how to enrich,” he said on December 17th.

True, in theory. But Iran refuses to follow such logic. By making long-delayed fuel shipments to Bushehr now, Russia will weaken further the UN Security Council effort to end Iran's defiance. It also risks undermining plans to limit the spread of dangerous nuclear technologies at a time when many governments, including a number in the volatile Middle East, plan to invest in nuclear power” (Ecomomist.com, December 19, 07).

John McCain’s reason for excluding Russia from the G8 was their new clampdown on political freedom. The presses freedom as well as the freedom of political dissension is taking hold in parliament.

"Not a single private TV channel is left at the national level, and a similar process is under way in the regions," says Boris Nemtsov, a parliamentary leader of the liberal Union of Right Forces. "Freedom of the press is gradually being squelched in Russia" (Rusnet, July 13,08).

“Amnesty International examines the pernicious effect of arbitrary interpretations of vague legislation and increasing harassment on the freedom of people in Russia to express their opinions and to stand up for their rights. The report comes after a tumultuous period under Russian President Vladimir Putin that has seen armed police attack peaceful 'Other Russia' demonstrators, new laws that have harassed NGOs and their personnel, the unsolved murder of outspoken journalists and the closure of nearly all independent media outlets” (Amnesty.org, Feb.2008).

Politically, Russia is beginning to move back to the days of its Soviet past. A weak hand and a naïve belief that the Russians want a relationship with the United States will only increase the proliferation of nuclear weapons around the world. Strength is the position they and the rest of the world respect and understand. The Reagan model of working with the Soviets is the premier that should be followed. It was the only one that ended the proliferation of nuclear weapons up until that point in history.

Obama needs to remember his history. The only relationship we have ever had with Russia that has worked long term in controlling rouge nations and the spread of weapons of mass destruction was the cold war. It seems that he wants to be everyone’s friend, but he needs to remember that no one wants to be the friend of the United States. Russia hates our position, and our power as does every other nation in the world that is not already our close ally. The enemy of my enemy is my friend.