Putin - US Pal?

[Wojtek Sokolowski]

Of all the surprising developments the world has
>witnessed since the attack on the World Trade Center,
>the sudden rapprochement between Russia and the U.S.
>is one of the most startling. Russian President
>Putin--former cold warrior, ex-KGB operative,
>self-proclaimed restorer of Russian greatness--now
>wants an alliance with the old archenemy, an America
>that has done little to help Russia economically and
>sometimes seems intent on stripping it of the little
>international leverage it has left. Putin is eager to
>deal with the same White House that has unleashed such
>attack dogs as Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld,
>who has fiercely combatted Moscow's objections to
>President George W. Bush's missile-defense plan.

It may be surprising to US punditry, that tend to see the world in terms of
morality play good vs. evil, West vs East, freedom vs. communism, but it is
not suprising outside that framework.

Once we reaalize that the Soviet/Russia's goal has always been accelerated
economic development to "catch up with the West"  - the central planning
(and its ideological legitimation) will appears as essentially nothing more
than a means to attain that goal: a form of economic protectionism combined
with austerity measures to limit consumption and boost savings, and strict
anti-inflationary measures (price control) to counter-act inflationary
pressures resulted from excess demand (esp. agricultural products)
triggered by development policies.  Another aspect of that "catching up"
process is attempts to slow down the progress of your competitors by
throwing obstacles in their way - such as fomenting dissent and labor
unrest, suporting anti-colonial movements, etc.


>From that perspective, Soviet central planning, collectivist ideology, and
communist interantionalism are but temporary crutches to prop their own
political-economic project and throw a monkey wrench into the economic
project of their Westewrn competitors.  Far from being permanent fixtures
aimed to destroy and replace "the American way" (as the punditry wanted us
to believe) - these crutches' main goal was to emulate Western economic
achievement in the East.  Their usefulness expired when that goal was
more-or-less accomplished, and central planning cum its ideological
superstructures quickly found their way to a dumpster. (NOTE: please do not
construe that statement as a critique of planned economy in general!)

What is more, Russia's economic/political interests are now much closer to
those of the West than thoe of their former Third World clients.  As the
oil-enriched Middle East aristocrats and military regimes fund various
dissenters and terrorists in the First and Second World to advance their
own imperial ambitions, it makes perfect sense for Russia to join the US
and other Frist world countries to keep these ambitions at bay.

If that analysis is correct, the World War II history will likely repeat
itself in the 21 century as a farce: NATO with Russia onboard allied
against Islamic fascism. 

wojtek