Russia Conjuring Up Bogeymen
Published in Die Tageszeitung
(Germany) on August 21st, 2008
by Klaus-Helge Donath (link to original)
Protecting itself with a high-tech missile defense shield has been an American dream for decades. Now, an agreement between Poland and the U.S. is signed, sealed and delivered. It calls for the stationing of ten defensive missiles against possible attack by so-called rogue states. The missiles are still in the testing stage and whether theyll ever work remains to be seen. Yet even in the planning stages the project has wrought havoc in Russia. Moscow ran an unsuccessful campaign against the plans and exploited Washingtons coolness to their scenario of an external threat, using it to mobilize their people into a permanent state of emergency.
Moscows military doesnt really fear the missile shield. If push ever came to shove, ten U.S. missiles would face thousands of Russian warheads. Not even the espionage carried out by the Kremlin in the field made a difference: current U.S. monitoring stations are effective enough, according to Russian military experts. As usual, this is about respect and recognition. Russia cant come to grips with the loss of its role as a superpower. The inclusion of their former satellite states Czechoslovakia and Poland into the American sphere of influence sits especially hard with Russias political leaders. It brings home the realization that political weight doesnt increase along with their petrodollars. Nostalgic Soviet memories continue to have an effect and grow stronger.
We can only hope that the Kremlin doesnt overstep the mark and enter into a new arms race. Their ramshackle country couldnt survive that. The fate of the Soviet Union that armed itself to death and collapsed into oblivion when oil prices sank should serve as a warning to them. Creating bogeymen, fostering a fortress mentality and constructing an us-against-them world will only lead to an irresponsible kleptocracy dressed in governments clothing. To retain power, it will use every opportunity in the west to ensure a state of emergency rather than a state of normalcy.
Moscows military doesnt really fear the missile shield. If push ever came to shove, ten U.S. missiles would face thousands of Russian warheads. Not even the espionage carried out by the Kremlin in the field made a difference: current U.S. monitoring stations are effective enough, according to Russian military experts. As usual, this is about respect and recognition. Russia cant come to grips with the loss of its role as a superpower. The inclusion of their former satellite states Czechoslovakia and Poland into the American sphere of influence sits especially hard with Russias political leaders. It brings home the realization that political weight doesnt increase along with their petrodollars. Nostalgic Soviet memories continue to have an effect and grow stronger.
We can only hope that the Kremlin doesnt overstep the mark and enter into a new arms race. Their ramshackle country couldnt survive that. The fate of the Soviet Union that armed itself to death and collapsed into oblivion when oil prices sank should serve as a warning to them. Creating bogeymen, fostering a fortress mentality and constructing an us-against-them world will only lead to an irresponsible kleptocracy dressed in governments clothing. To retain power, it will use every opportunity in the west to ensure a state of emergency rather than a state of normalcy.
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