- The big news at the recent NATO meeting in Romania is
that Croatia and Albania are now happy members of the family of peace-loving
nations conducting a brutal war in Afghanistan . The bad news is that Ukraine,
Georgia and Macedonia didn't get the green light, with Russian and Greek
revanchism the culprit - clearly a great setback to the cause of world
peace.
- US President George W Bush wanted to "lay down a
marker" for his legacy, and not "lose faith" with the Ukrainian
and Georgian peoples and all those other juicy ex-Soviet tid-bits, so he
threw the usual stage-managed NATO script to the winds, ignoring a behind-the-scenes
deal with Germany and France to try to slip their application in next year
- NATO's 60th anniversary - when Russia isn't looking, and loudly demanded
they be allowed to join.
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- "It would send a signal throughout the region that
these two nations are, and will remain, sovereign and independent states,"
he opined. So, by implication, at present they are not? Is independence
something that is reserved for this Skull and Bones fraternity? There is
certainly no love lost between Chancellor Angela Merkel, President Nicolas
Sarkozy and President Vladimir Putin, but Germany and France have no interest
in provoking Russia , something that the US seems to take delight in doing
these days. And it's not only the two biggies; Spain , Italy among others
have also had enough.
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- Wolfgang Ischinger, the German ambassador to London
, stated the obvious: a so-called Membership Action Plan (MAP) offer to
a divided Ukraine could destabilise the new government there, and not enough
diplomacy had taken place beforehand with Russia . German Marshall Fund
Director Ronald Asmus said that Bush leaves "a legacy of divisiveness"
over Ukraine and Georgia . "It was a classic example of bad diplomacy
- waiting too long to decide, then going public and then trying to roll
people, and only getting half a loaf." As for Greece vetoing Macedonia
, he said, "Only Washington could have taken Greece to the woodshed
on this issue, and it didn't do so."
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- No one even bothered to comment on the explosive situation
that would result from offering Georgia a MAP. Such a made-in-USA "roadmap"
would be sure to lead right over a political cliff. As a hint of how dangerous
some of the new drivers in the "Atlantic" alliance are, Georgian
Foreign Minister David Bakradze said, "A no for Georgia will show
those people in the Kremlin that by a policy of blackmail, arrogance and
aggression, they can influence NATO decisions." Referring to a speech
by Putin at a Munich peace conference last year warning about US warmongering,
Hungarian political analyst Istvan Gyarmati said Putin "will say that
the policy of brutality we started in Munich has worked. This is the result
of a Western appeasement policy and the Russians will be extremely proud
of it." So, Putin is by implication the new Hitler? Will someone please
rescind this guy's Learner's Permit?
-
- The other huge bone of contention is of course the US
missile bases in the Czech Republic and Poland . Bush got a NATO endorsement
for this bald provocation of Russia , something presumably should have
been done long ago. During a conference organised on the sidelines of the
NATO summit by the German US Marshall Fund, Konstantin Kosachev, chairman
of the international affairs committee of the Russian Duma, said, "we
still do not have a proper explanation of this project. It is not about
the number of interceptors. It is about undermining mutual confidence and
trust." "NATO cannot guarantee its security at the expense of
other countries' security," Putin said, complaining that some NATO
members "went as far as total demonisation of Russia and can't get
away from this even now."
-
- Poland is still negotiating with the US over the terms
for deploying 10 interceptors. "We are not close to a final agreement,"
said Bogdan Klich , Poland 's defence minister. "It is difficult to
predict the conclusion of talks with the Americans." Clearly sensing
the US can't afford to backdown and seeing the chance for a huge financial
windfall, Prime Minister Donald Tusk has insisted on security guarantees
from the US including new air defences as well as US financing and protection
of the system. The Czech Republic foolishly only asked that its defence
companies be involved in building the system and that its scientists and
security officials get US training.
-
- The promise by France to boost troop numbers in Afghanistan
did not include a commitment to put them in the line of fire alongside
the Canadians in Kandahar . Sarkozy did manage to bury General de Gaulle's
legacy of keeping aloof from NATO's command structure. "Let Europe
's defence pole advance and we will continue to advance towards NATO,"
he huffed. "I repeat, these are two things that go together."
Just why Europe needs three levels of defence - national, European and
NATO - is not clear. Nor why all defence concerns among these supposedly
peace-loving nations can't be fulfilled through, say, the United Nations.
-
- This makes two failed NATO conferences in a row, after
the February shouting match in Lithuania which, along with Romania , is
one of the lucky new members of this "Atlantic" alliance. And
the bases are very much a case of the US cutting off its nose to spite
its face. Putin has made it clear numerous times that Moscow wants to cooperate
with NATO on joint security problems like Afghanistan and terrorism. But
then the stated reason to invade Afghanistan was to catch Osama bin Laden,
which has been shown to hold as much water as US claims of invading Iraq
to find WMDs. So it is safe to conclude that the machinations to expand
this very un-Atlantic organisation and to install US missiles in eastern
Europe is more smoke and mirrors.
-
- This was Putin's first visit to a NATO summit meeting
as Russia 's president, and his last, and he was treated with kid gloves
and even praised by purported foes. An American official noted that Putin's
opening and closing remarks - which were not broadcast, in favour of Ukrainian
President Viktor Yushchenko's - were "very classy". Spanish Foreign
Minister Miguel Ángel Moratinos said that Putin "showed a willingness
for dialogue", that Russia would be willing to return to the Conventional
Armed Forces in Europe treaty if Western nations were willing to compromise
on the treaty limits. Explaining Germany 's veto of Ukraine and Georgia
's MAPs, Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said that after Russian
anger over Kosovo's independence, "we could see no convincing reason
to create more tension.
-
- There seems little chance that Ukraine or Georgia will
ever join this club of Atlantic peaceniks. It's far more likely that it
will first collapse under the weight of its many contradictions. But whatever
the outcome of the Polish missile deal, it must be observed that Russia
's checkered relations with the Poles, Czechs, Hungarians, Lithuanians
et al, and their collective long-term love affair with things American
are continuing to haunt Russia . So far, rational voices are few and far
between, but the light of day continues to shine every 24 hours. For the
present, that, and Russia 's new-found vigour, will have to be our beacon.
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- ***
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- Eric Walberg writes for Al-Ahram Weekly. You can reach
him at www.geocities.com/walberg2002/
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