cjelli | Нешахматное

Гарри Кимович Каспаров регулярно публикуется в Уолл Стрит Джорнал.

Последняя его статья: [англ. яз]
Линк есть, но он ведет в платный раздел WSJ
Ниже следуют выдержки, опубликованные в USENET

KGB State
by Garry Kasparov

When Russia's President Vladimir Putin arrives at Camp David for next
week's summit, President Bush will be welcoming the leader of a
democratizing nation, a staunch ally in the U.S.-led war to defend the
free world.

Right?

Wrong.

The world view that designates Mr. Putin as America's democratic ally
is part of the same fragmented U.S. foreign policy in which the
Pentagon has emerged as the most efficient branch of government.
That's not to fault the Pentagon, which in its ability to cover any
significant task in remote quarters has proved ready and efficient.
But where the State Department and National Security Council should be
providing diplomatic coverage and a plausible strategic rationale --
which certainly does exist -- for the global "War on Terror," there
has been failure. Instead of offering us a new vision of global
development, on the scale of Winston Churchill's historic 1946 "Iron
Curtain" speech, the current administration has reduced its foreign
policy to a vehicle of crisis micro-management.

* * * In precisely that spirit, while huge debate goes on over Iraq,
the administration has missed entirely the crises it is now helping
cook up in Russia. The policy of "Punish France, Ignore Germany and
Forgive Russia" has been one of the worst blunders of U.S. foreign
policy in recent years. Condoleezza Rice's rush to "Forgive Russia" in
fact was received by the Putin regime as a green light for any drastic
actions Mr. Putin might care to take in moving toward a KGB regime
back home.

In general, Washington still underestimates its influence on Russian
local affairs. Behind the sharp anti-American rhetoric and rage
against the U.S. "imperialistic agenda," there is huge respect for
America's economic and military power. Unfortunately, America's
unbalanced support for President Putin is preventing any serious
opposition from being formed. Instead, the Kremlin enjoys with growing
impunity the power to crush any potential opposition.

[...]

In Washington, there is a false belief that while America wages its
War on Terror, relative "stability" and relative "democracy" in a
Russia with a relatively cooperative president need inspire no
worries. Forgotten, it seems, is the creed with which Ronald Reagan
won the Cold War: "We must be staunch in our conviction that freedom
is not the sole prerogative of a lucky few, but the inalienable and
universal right of all human beings."

[...]

Indeed, President Putin has been playing a clever game of reaping
benefits from both sides of every major international crisis. While
the Russian Foreign Ministry kindly offers the U.S. its mediating
services, Russia's military and security wings work behind the scenes
to bolster rogue regimes, thus adding value to Mr. Putin's bargaining
chips at the geopolitical table.

Astonishingly, nearly 50% of the top positions in Russia's
governmental structures are occupied by Mr. Putin's former KGB
colleagues. This newly emerging Russian ruling elite (no longer
content with having squirreled away billions of dollars in foreign
banks), sits in ambush, anxiously awaiting the moment when it can cut
the throat of U.S. imperialism. Five years ago, then FSB chief
Vladimir Putin spoke the truth when he said, "There are no ex-KGB
officers!" Will the West ever learn?