As Bush promotes the spread of freedom and liberty throughout the Middle East, his continued support of Russia — which is being transformed by Vladimir Putin into an authoritarian state — remains a contradiction.
Fred Hiatt writes of Putin in a column for The Washington Post: “This is the man whom Bush will visit in July when Putin hosts a Group of Eight meeting in St. Petersburg. There will be fine photo opportunities in repainted czarist palaces, and the message Putin wants to send his subjects will be clear: I am a czar, and the leaders of the world’s democracies do not care; they accept me. The question for Bush is whether he is happy to help Putin send that message.”
Posted by Melissa Cooley
Registered?
Commenting on WE Blog now requires you to be a Kansas.com member. Use the links above to register, if you haven't already, or to log in.Contact us
Follow us
Daily Archives
-
Recent Comments
- Chas on Open thread 11/23
- Monkeyhawk on Open thread 11/23
- okobserver on Open thread 11/23
- Heckler on Open thread 11/23
- Chas on Open thread 11/23
- Monkeyhawk on Open thread 11/23
- Daniel on Too many exemptions
- BobChi on Let immigrants run
- Heckler on Open thread 11/23
- Chas on Open thread 11/23

10 Comments
Of course Bush will always support Putin and turn a blind eye to the human rights violations taking place in Russia. Judging by his behavior and willingness to violate the civil rights of US citizens, Bush must also have a secret fantasy of being a czar.
damoon
I coudn’t have said it better myself.Why do you think Bush is going to Russia – - It’s to learn how to make himself a czar.
Is that the real message?
Russia is super corrupt and I don’t blame Putin for having an iron fist to stem the corruption and rampet terrorism. At least he is friendly to the USA instead of being hostle.
Lets play change the names with your sentence Joe: “I don’t blame Mugabe for having an iron fist to stem the corruption and rampet terrorism.”
I don’t buy it with Mugabe; nor with Putin. That is the line used by despots the world over – from Khartoom to Karachi to Baghdad …
Of course Bush is looking to Russia. There are alliances and money to be made there. Those have always trumped human rights.
And there’s oil in Russia.
Tres Eches–
Bingo!
Aliances,money, and oil…
Another Trifecta!!!
“Freedom” is word that is easily used, but merely stating you support freedom doesn’t make it so.
When most people speak of their love for “freedom,” they usually mean “freedom for ME.”
That’s certainly true of Bush.
Damoon, I dont think that czar fantasy is secret anymore. He isnt even bothering to hide it since the ‘merican people so clearly want it to be true.