McFaul predictably blames Putins personality for US foreign policy shortcomings The current crisis in US-Russian relations, bolstered recently by the Ukrainian turmoil, is caused predominantly by the Russian leaderships unjustified anti-American stance, according to the US ex-Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul. He believes that there are no other reasons for confrontation between Moscow and Washington. Does Mr. McFaul present a compelling argument? Michael McFaul made some comments regarding the bilateral relations between Moscow and Washington at the Aspen Ideas Festival, hosted by The Atlantic and the Aspen Institute. Remarkably, the tone of his comments differs from that of his earlier publications, including his nearly hysterical Op-Ed Confronting Putins Russia, March 23, 2014. He does not urge the US to start an immediate crusade against Russia. Instead, he shifts the burden of responsibility on Russian President Putin by suggesting that the current US-Russian crisis is a direct result of Putins actions and personality. Mr. McFaul thinks that a long confrontational struggle with Russia will end when Vladimir Putin steps down. We tend to assign a lot of rationale and logic to individuals and states, and my experience in government suggests ... they’re people with emotions, with worldviews, and that different people in that job will behave differently, Michael McFaul says. The American diplomat believes that Russias middle class, brave civil society leaders, and the pro-European elite will remain loyal to the US and constitute an influential opposition to Putins regime. Still, he is not inclined to recognize the US foreign policy mistakes made in the past 20 years, since the collapse of the Soviet Empire. Something that happened 20 years ago cannot explain what’s happening now if we were cooperating two years ago, McFaul argued. However, the US foreign policy approach towards Russia is qualified by experts as a string of inexcusable failures. A prominent American scholar, Professor Stephen F. Cohen blames Washington for its inability to establish partnership between the United States and post-Soviet Russia. According to Professor Cohen, the White House demonstrated an aggressive triumphalist approach towards Moscow since the very birth of the young Russian democracy in 1991. The post-Communist Russia was considered an American client state by Washington. NATOs expansion to Russias borders, bombing of Yugoslavia, USs unilateral withdrawal from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, NATOs BMD project in Europe, scandalous Magnitsky Act and a series of color revolutions in the former Soviet Republics openly supported by the US leadership are just a few in the list of factors which were affecting negatively the US-Russian relations in the past 20 years. The Ukrainian coup conducted under the patronage of the American and the EU top officials has evidently become the last drop that made the cup run over. Read more: voiceofrussia/2014_07_09/McFaul-predictably-blames-Putins-personality-for-US-foreign-policy-shortcomings-6212/
Posted on: Wed, 09 Jul 2014 09:15:30 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015