George W. Bush appears to be sincere in trying to follow the ideals set forth by John F. Kennedy in his inaugural address: «Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty." But Mr. Bush's approach has been inconsistent and regional when it must be global to be effective.
Kristallnacht was the predictable manifestation of years of a hate-mongering legislative agenda in Germany. Many European leaders turned a blind eye to Hitler's belligerence, naively hoping that he was a new Bismarck who wanted only to unite a Greater Germany. This attitude was exemplified by Neville Chamberlain's remark that he could «do business» with Hitler, a comment that became his epitaph.
In May, 1941 Franklin Roosevelt answered the appeasers' propaganda of accommodation in one of his fireside chats: «Those same words have been used before in other countries — to scare them, to divide them, to soften them up. Invariably, those same words have formed the advance guard of physical attack."
FDR recognized that what Hitler was doing was more important than what he was saying (a gap that was shrinking by the day). From World War II to Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait and the ethnic cleansing of Slobodan Milosevic, history is full of examples of the West ignoring signs of impending explosion.
Likewise, in Russia it will not have been a sudden coup but a steady march to dictatorship. Mr. Putin has authorized an endless illegal war in Chechnya, taken over the airwaves, jailed a prominent businessman who resisted the Kremlin's intimidation, and presided over rampant electoral fraud.
And, later in the article, he warns about the future:
Some say that Mr. Putin doesn't care what the West says. This is both cynical and false. The money of Mr. Putin's elite backers is held almost exclusively outside of Russia, so he has vested interests in Russia's relations with the West on a national and personal level. That doesn't mean someone who takes such audacious measures will be swayed by newspaper editorials. Unless Mr. Putin hears strong, unequivocal words from George W. Bush and other Western leaders, he won't respond. Mr. Putin lives in a world where only the No. 1 man is relevant.
Instead, we have heard only innocuous remarks about checks and balances and weakening institutions. The man is abolishing elections! Mr. Bush should not be fooled by Mr. Putin's pre-emptive words of support. If the American president truly wants to flex his new mandate, there could be no better goal than protecting democracy in Russia.
Even if the Western democratic powers are unwilling to stand up for democracy on moral grounds, there is a clear security concern. The escalating terror attacks in Russia show that authoritarianism has not improved security inside our borders. Nor is the world safer with a Russian dictator in place.
The language used by the current Kremlin regime has not been heard in Russia since Stalin. Official talk of foreign meddlers and fifth columnists will send chills down the spine of a any student of history. If this familiar train continues to run on schedule we can expect violent repression and purges next.
The whole article can be read here.
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