Prelude to a New Cold War

Published in Diario El Mundo
(El Salvador) on 9 August 2013
by Editorial (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Sean P. Hunter. Edited by Keith Armstrong.
The granting of asylum to an American spy seems to be part of a series of new disagreements between the United States and Russia.

U.S. President Barack Obama announced the cancellation of a meeting between him and his colleague [Russian President Vladimir] Putin this week in the middle of the melodrama surrounding American spy Edward Snowden. This episode ended with Russia granting him temporary asylum in Moscow.

Although Snowden's asylum seems to be a more immediate problem, in reality it's just another disagreement between the old archenemies of the Cold War.

Russia and the United States have had various points of contention recently. The White House has criticized the Kremlin for human rights and civil society violations, as well as for growing government authoritarianism.

Differences over the conflict in Syria and the new Russian law that suppresses gay rights are also part of the disagreements, but perhaps most serious of all is the way that Russia has reacted to the U.S. announcement of the construction of an anti-missile defense system in Central Europe for the purpose of self-defense from an eventual attack from Iran or North Korea. Russia said one year ago that it was prepared to use "preventative military force" if Washington went ahead with its plans.

In a world increasingly focused on economy and trade rather than ideologies, it is unlikely that a Cold War like the one from the recent past will reactivate, but both powers had best smooth out their differences or face the obvious risk of confrontation.


El asilo a un espía norteamericano parece ser parte de una serie de nuevos desencuentros entre los rusos y los estadounidenses.

El presidente estadounidense, Barack Obama, anunció esta semana la cancelación de un encuentro con su colega ruso, Vladimir Putin, en medio del culebrón del espía norteamericano, Edward Snowden, que terminó con un asilo temporal en Moscú.

Y aunque el asilo a Snowden parece ser un problema más inmediato, en realidad solo es un desencuentro más entre los otrora archienemigos de la guerra fría.

Rusia y Estados Unidos han tenido varios puntos de discordia, luego que la Casa Blanca criticara al Kremlin por violaciones a los derechos humanos y la sociedad civil, así como un creciente autoritarismo del gobierno.

Las diferencias sobre el conflicto en Siria y la nueva ley rusa que reprime los derechos homosexuales también son parte de los desencuentros, pero quizás el más grave sea la forma que Rusia ha reaccionado al anuncio estadounidense de construir un sistema de defensa antimisiles en Europa Central para protegerse contra un eventual ataque de Irán o Corea del Norte. Rusia dijo hace un año que estaba preparada para usar “fuerzas destructoras preventivas” si Washington seguía adelante con sus planes. En un mundo cada vez más enfocado en lo económico y el comercio y cada vez menos en las ideologías, es difícil que se reactive una guerra fría como la del pasado reciente, pero ambas potencias deben limar asperezas ante el riesgo evidente de confrontación.
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