Foreign policy is slow to change here in the US of A. It seems as if once we decide who are the good guys and bad guys we never get around to seeing if they have changed or our relationship has changed over the years.
Take Russia for example.
Until the fall of the Tsar in 1917 Russia was an ally of the United States and in fact Russia was probably responsible for saving the USA during our
own Civil War.
Since most history books
seem to have ignored this crucial story perhaps a reminder is in order. In 1862 when it appeared as if the Confederacy
might win the war the British and French governments, both of whom were backing
the Confederacy over the Union, moved their own troops into Canada and Mexico
respectively and were prepared to attack Lincoln
and the Union at the first opportunity.
With the Union Army nearly
wiped out by Confederate commander Robert E. Lee the most important battle of the Civil War was
about to take place at Gettysburg. Lincoln knew the outlook
was bleak and that any intervention by British and French troops on behalf of
the South would win the war.
Secretly, so secretly that
his own personal secretaries and the Secretary of War Stanton did not know, Lincoln sent a courier to
the Tsar with a private note from him asking for help. When the courier reached Russia and got to the Tsar he said he had a private
letter from President Lincoln and before he said another word, before the letter
was even opened, the Tsar said he had such a high regard for the new American President
he would do whatever Lincoln
asked.
What Lincoln
asked was that Russian, the greatest enemy in the world of Great Britain and France ,
let the European powers know that any invasion by them of America would be considered an act of war against
Russia
as well.
Not only did the Tsar agree
but he sent his fleet into New York and San Francisco harbors to help defend the North as he sent couriers
to Britain and France to warn the kings an invasion of America would be considered an act of war against
Russia
as well.
After the fall of Russia to Communism in 1917 the Communist Manifesto
to conquer the world kept the Soviet Union at
arms length, only because Hitler and Nazi Germany posed a far greater threat.
For the period of World War
II we were allies with the Soviet Union and in fact American arms and weapons sent
to Russia
helped keep Hitler from conquering the Soviets. However, as soon as the war ended we were bitter
Cold War enemies and that lasted until about 1990 when the Communist control over
the Soviet Union collapsed.
After that we tried to make
the new Russia into an American
reflection of Democracy and nearly destroyed the countries of the former Soviet Union . It has
taken over 20 years for Russia
to recover and begin the long process toward limited democracy.
I believe it is time a new
American foreign policy be adopted toward Russia and China that reflects the new
world situation, alliances and common interests. Yet we continue to treat both countries with Cold
War suspicion and mistrust.
This story deals with Russian
USA relations. A follow up will outline
a new USA China relationship. Tantamount
to both countries is the need for the USA
to articulate a willingness on behalf of America
to become a true partner and ally of Russia while recognizing that the Russian
people and culture may never be able to adopt our brand of democracy, but at least
they can move toward such a goal.
In Russia we have
a nation over 2,500 years old with a rich culture and history thousands of years
older than democracy or communism. While
Russia is one of the top ten nation's in the world in terms of economy, our minimum
support for the Russian government has left friction between nations and unrest
in the United Nations.
With the recent election of
Vladimir Putin to his third term as President of the Russian
Federation there is a window of opportunity to move to improve
relations with this ancient culture but it will take initiative on our part as
much of the world has been confused by the strange foreign policy of America .
Though Russia has fallen from a Superpower to the 9th strongest
economy on Earth there are still many assets like an abundance of natural resources,
that are vital to Europe . In addition any strategic defense treaties between
the two would eliminate the need for many more treaties with other nations.
It is time we put behind
suspicion and fear and stop treating Russia like a potential threat and move
forward to improve relations across the spectrum with this sleeping giant which
is a true indication of the Russian potential.
We should recognize Putin
as the survivor he is from the Communist and KGB regimes and though we may not
be enamored with his personal habits and bravado, he has now been elected president
three times and served four more years as prime minister. That is a powerful indication of support from
the people of Russia .
Yes there is corruption in
Russia just as there is corruption
in America ,
in the halls of government in fact.
Yes there is voter fraud in
elections just like we had in Florida
during the 2000 election.
And of course the Russians
and Chinese alike have developed powerful cyber hacking capabilities through
the Internet but didn't our intelligence agencies hack them first? Don't they have a right to defend their computers
from being hacked by us?
There is too much good that
can be accomplished by cooperation between the US
and Russia
in many fields from medicine to space (already we are dependant on them to get into
space), from global environmental issues to nuclear proliferation.
I say roll the clock back
to the time of Lincoln when Russia saved the United States and then work together
to build a better world.
.