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Heritage.org, DC
May 9 2005
On the Road to Moscow
By Ariel Cohen
President George W. Bush's visit to Latvia, Russia and the Republic
of Georgia underscores how much the geopolitical landscape changed 13
years after the collapse of the Soviet Empire.
In Riga, Mr. Bush will address leaders of Estonia, Latvia and
Lithuania. These are America's new allies -- members of North
Atlantic Treaty Organization. They are also members of the European
Union. Russia is an ex-rival and a strategic partner, a vague term
indeed. Georgia (and neighboring Azerbaijan) are emerging allies.
In Riga, Mr. Bush should avoid new dividing lines in Europe, but call
for recognition of Latvian and Estonian borders by Russia and the
signing of a peace treaty. The president should also tell people of
the Baltic States that their well-earned and much-deserved freedom
should not be dishonored by occasional expressions of sympathy to
Nazis or by discriminatory measures against the Russian population.
Mr. Bush should also acknowledge our new allies' great achievements
in making the transition to democracy and market economy and
integration into NATO. He should remember a new generation has come
of age, which did not suffer from Soviet occupation and is not as
pro-American as its parents. The president should remind these young
people the U.S. supported Baltic independence and never recognized
Soviet annexation. The task now is to keep these young people friends
of America.
Presidential challenges in Russia are different. He should address
Russia's people through press conferences and in the meeting with
democracy activists.
He should acknowledge the great sacrifices of the peoples of Russia
and the former Soviet Union in World War Two -- a topic most dear to
every Russian's heart. Josef Stalin no doubt enabled Adolf Hitler to
start the war, and the Soviet regime then was as bloodthirsty as the
Nazis. Stalin also destroyed the top Soviet generals and was
criminally negligent and oblivious to the coming Nazi attack --
Operation Barbarossa, which started in June 1941. In it, millions of
Soviet soldiers were surrounded and whole field armies destroyed.
It was, however, the blood and heroism of Russians, Ukrainians,
Tatars, Jews, Georgians and others who stopped the Nazi war machine.
Battles of Stalingrad and Kursk broke the backbone of the Wehrmacht.
The strategic gifts of Marshal Georgi Zhukov helped a lot. Still,
Soviets lost 25 million sons and daughters.
Mr. Bush can also remind his audience that the victories of the Red
Army were due to a large degree to Franklin D. Roosevelt's
"lend-lease" program: Studebaker trucks, Cobra fighter planes, SPAM
and GI boots.
Today, the president should say, the United States and Russia face a
new enemy: implacable Islamist terrorism coveting weapons of mass
destruction (WMD). In talks with Mr. Putin, Mr. Bush should advance
joint anti-proliferation efforts, such as the Nunn-Lugar program
worth up to $1 billion a year aimed at securing and destroying the
creaky Russian WMD arsenal and related materials.
The United States and Russia should work on ways to prevent Iran from
obtaining nuclear weapons. While Tehran can hit Russian soil, it
still lacks the missile capability to strike the U.S. The two leaders
should also discuss the future challenges U.S. and Russia may face
from assertive and resource-hungry China.
The president should extend a helping hand to the Russian people.
America can help address Russia's catastrophic social trends: an
HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis epidemics and a male life expectancy of
58-59 years -- behind that of Egypt.
Russia suffers from a wave of alcoholism, drugs and related
illnesses, and the abortion rate remains among the highest in the
world. This is not about geopolitics, it is about helping Russians
lead healthier, happier lives.
In meeting with Russia's democracy activists, President Bush should
explain why America promotes democracy around the world. Without
stentorian lectures, Mr. Bush should explain why smooth and bloodless
transition from one power elite to another benefits Russia, why free
media helps fight corruption, why transparency and the rule of law
attract foreign investment. If Russia wants to modernize, it needs to
liberalize. It is in the Russian national interest to be free. The
United States can help -- if the Russians want it to.
Finally, a speech at the Independence Square in Tbilisi is a great
opportunity to look into the future. Mr. Bush should acknowledge
Georgia's accomplishments in its Rose Revolution, a bloodless
pro-democracy power change. He should express America's -- and the
world's -- firm hope that Georgia will remain on the democratic path
and its territorial integrity and sovereignty be restored. U.S.
should support return of secessionist Abkhazia and South Ossetia to
Georgia's fold, and withdrawal of Russian military bases from
Georgian soil.
Further, President Bush should demand the end to "frozen conflicts"
between Armenia and Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh and in
Transnistria in Moldova. These conflicts lasted too long, and make
everyone miserable and unable to economically develop.
Finally, the president should express our hope the right will be
respected of the region's peoples -- from Belarus to Turkmenistan to
Uzbekistan -- to elect their leaders. Tbilisi will be a terrific
place to launch a new campaign for a better future in the former
Soviet area, a future where dignity, the rule of law, civil society,
economic development and freedom prevail.
Ariel Cohen is a senior research fellow in Russian and Eurasian
studies and international energy security at the Heritage Foundation.
May 9 2005
On the Road to Moscow
By Ariel Cohen
President George W. Bush's visit to Latvia, Russia and the Republic
of Georgia underscores how much the geopolitical landscape changed 13
years after the collapse of the Soviet Empire.
In Riga, Mr. Bush will address leaders of Estonia, Latvia and
Lithuania. These are America's new allies -- members of North
Atlantic Treaty Organization. They are also members of the European
Union. Russia is an ex-rival and a strategic partner, a vague term
indeed. Georgia (and neighboring Azerbaijan) are emerging allies.
In Riga, Mr. Bush should avoid new dividing lines in Europe, but call
for recognition of Latvian and Estonian borders by Russia and the
signing of a peace treaty. The president should also tell people of
the Baltic States that their well-earned and much-deserved freedom
should not be dishonored by occasional expressions of sympathy to
Nazis or by discriminatory measures against the Russian population.
Mr. Bush should also acknowledge our new allies' great achievements
in making the transition to democracy and market economy and
integration into NATO. He should remember a new generation has come
of age, which did not suffer from Soviet occupation and is not as
pro-American as its parents. The president should remind these young
people the U.S. supported Baltic independence and never recognized
Soviet annexation. The task now is to keep these young people friends
of America.
Presidential challenges in Russia are different. He should address
Russia's people through press conferences and in the meeting with
democracy activists.
He should acknowledge the great sacrifices of the peoples of Russia
and the former Soviet Union in World War Two -- a topic most dear to
every Russian's heart. Josef Stalin no doubt enabled Adolf Hitler to
start the war, and the Soviet regime then was as bloodthirsty as the
Nazis. Stalin also destroyed the top Soviet generals and was
criminally negligent and oblivious to the coming Nazi attack --
Operation Barbarossa, which started in June 1941. In it, millions of
Soviet soldiers were surrounded and whole field armies destroyed.
It was, however, the blood and heroism of Russians, Ukrainians,
Tatars, Jews, Georgians and others who stopped the Nazi war machine.
Battles of Stalingrad and Kursk broke the backbone of the Wehrmacht.
The strategic gifts of Marshal Georgi Zhukov helped a lot. Still,
Soviets lost 25 million sons and daughters.
Mr. Bush can also remind his audience that the victories of the Red
Army were due to a large degree to Franklin D. Roosevelt's
"lend-lease" program: Studebaker trucks, Cobra fighter planes, SPAM
and GI boots.
Today, the president should say, the United States and Russia face a
new enemy: implacable Islamist terrorism coveting weapons of mass
destruction (WMD). In talks with Mr. Putin, Mr. Bush should advance
joint anti-proliferation efforts, such as the Nunn-Lugar program
worth up to $1 billion a year aimed at securing and destroying the
creaky Russian WMD arsenal and related materials.
The United States and Russia should work on ways to prevent Iran from
obtaining nuclear weapons. While Tehran can hit Russian soil, it
still lacks the missile capability to strike the U.S. The two leaders
should also discuss the future challenges U.S. and Russia may face
from assertive and resource-hungry China.
The president should extend a helping hand to the Russian people.
America can help address Russia's catastrophic social trends: an
HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis epidemics and a male life expectancy of
58-59 years -- behind that of Egypt.
Russia suffers from a wave of alcoholism, drugs and related
illnesses, and the abortion rate remains among the highest in the
world. This is not about geopolitics, it is about helping Russians
lead healthier, happier lives.
In meeting with Russia's democracy activists, President Bush should
explain why America promotes democracy around the world. Without
stentorian lectures, Mr. Bush should explain why smooth and bloodless
transition from one power elite to another benefits Russia, why free
media helps fight corruption, why transparency and the rule of law
attract foreign investment. If Russia wants to modernize, it needs to
liberalize. It is in the Russian national interest to be free. The
United States can help -- if the Russians want it to.
Finally, a speech at the Independence Square in Tbilisi is a great
opportunity to look into the future. Mr. Bush should acknowledge
Georgia's accomplishments in its Rose Revolution, a bloodless
pro-democracy power change. He should express America's -- and the
world's -- firm hope that Georgia will remain on the democratic path
and its territorial integrity and sovereignty be restored. U.S.
should support return of secessionist Abkhazia and South Ossetia to
Georgia's fold, and withdrawal of Russian military bases from
Georgian soil.
Further, President Bush should demand the end to "frozen conflicts"
between Armenia and Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh and in
Transnistria in Moldova. These conflicts lasted too long, and make
everyone miserable and unable to economically develop.
Finally, the president should express our hope the right will be
respected of the region's peoples -- from Belarus to Turkmenistan to
Uzbekistan -- to elect their leaders. Tbilisi will be a terrific
place to launch a new campaign for a better future in the former
Soviet area, a future where dignity, the rule of law, civil society,
economic development and freedom prevail.
Ariel Cohen is a senior research fellow in Russian and Eurasian
studies and international energy security at the Heritage Foundation.