EDITORIAL
Russian Deal With Iraq Sends Bush a Harsh Message
August 23, 2002
Russia sent a pointed message to the Bush administration with its announcement earlier this week that it was set to sign a 10-year, $40-billion trade pact with Iraq. The deal - and, most tellingly, the timing of its announcement - put a diplomatic monkey wrench in the machinery of President George W. Bush's plan to topple Saddam Hussein's regime.
What this development tells Bush is that his national security team has failed to do the necessary diplomatic and political work to make a persuasive case with Russia, a major player in the Persian Gulf, for going to war with Iraq.
It also reminds Bush, in a less-than-subtle fashion, that Moscow's interests do not always coincide with Washington's and that Russian cooperation cannot be taken for granted.
These are salutary cautions. If nothing else, they should give Bush some pause in his headlong rush toward war with Iraq and, more important, remind him that Russia is not the only other key player he must persuade with his rationale for ousting Saddam Hussein.
After the White House expressed displeasure at the announcement, the Russian government insisted that its proposed agreement had been in the works for years, would not violate UN sanctions against Iraq and should not cause any alarm in Washington. That's disingenuous: The deal, all but sealed, envisions new cooperation in oil, irrigation, agriculture, transportation, railroads and electrical energy, covering virtually all key aspects of Iraq's infrastructure.
That means that thousands of Russian engineers, technicians, advisers and their families could be sent to Iraq - and would be put at risk in any large-scale U.S. attack. Russia, of course, has spoken forcefully against any unilateral U.S. action against Iraq. Placing its own citizens in harm's way would raise the stakes considerably for Bush and complicate his war plans.
But then, something more to slow down Bush's seeming rush to invade Iraq is just what's needed, as long as it doesn't bar effective action if and when that becomes necessary. Copyright ¿ 2002, Newsday, Inc.
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