Bush and Putin Agree Little at Kennebunkport Summit

When the big success out of a summit meeting is the catching of a single fish, it’s pretty fair to say the thing was a failure. The White House and the Kremlin won’t say that about the “Lobster Summit,” held at the family home of the Bush dynasty in Kennebunkport, Maine. They will point to an agreement to present a “united front” against Iran’s nuclear ambitions and to working harder to bridge the gaps (which means they don’t agree on stuff). The truth is Mr. Putin knows the American president is a lame duck, and he wants to maximize his international position for the rest of his own presidency. That means hardball negotiating and the frequent use of the word “nyet.” He did, however, share credit with Mr. Bush for the single striped bass they caught during their talks, a “team effort.”

The big sticking point is the American pipedream of a missile defense shield that would protect the civilized world from the barbarians who some day soon will have a nook-yular weapon and a ballistic missile to deliver it. The Russians are dubious of the purpose, believing that putting some of the radar and interceptors in the Czech Republic and Poland is just more NATO fencing around a resurgent Russia. Mr. Putin’s suggestion that the Russian Federation and its former Soviet colonies participate in the latest version of Star Wars has wrong-footed the White House. Eventually, the US will reject any Russian proposal for fear that it would put Russia in a position to undermine American national security. This will, of course, make the Russians a bit paranoid about American intentions.

It would be far better to drop the entire program. The desire to build the damn thing is generated by the defense industry in the US, but Al Qaeda or others who get The Bomb aren’t going to launch it on a missile to destroy Washington. It’s so much easier just to put it on a container ship and wipe Miami, Houston or Seattle off the map. Properly securing America’s ports hasn’t been done in the almost 6 years since the World Trade Center fell, but the Busheviks are worried about the Cold War approach to destroying a city.

That raises the matter of Iran’s nuclear ambition, something that no one can really prevent from coming to fruition of the Iranians really want The Bomb. The US and Russia agreed to present a united front on this, but what that means is anybody’s guess. Usually, it means the Americans think the Russians will back their approach and vice versa, when in fact, there is no consensus on how to deal with the problem. And neither side seems to realize that the deterrence that prevented Moscow and Washington from incinerating each other would work just as well with Tehran, a theocracy that does quite well financially from running an oil-rich state and interested in its own survival.

The American-Russian relationship remains locked in a post-Cold War stasis, with neither side quite sure about the other. The present generation of leaders came of age during the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Prague Spring and the Tet Offensive. It is likely that they are unable to think of the other side as anything but a rival, if not an enemy. It is certainly the case that Mr. Bush is a lame duck, that Mr. Putin is in a strong position thanks to energy prices, and that none of this is going to be solved with a fishing trip in Maine.

© Copyright 2007 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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