Russia
President George Bush spoke at a news conference at his ranch where he had invited the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin. The year was 2001 and America was setting the stage for what was hoped to be good relations with Russia. At that news conference Bush was asked if “this was a man America could trust”. Putin said with a smile “I’m not going to answer to that, I could ask the very same question”, as in can Russia trust America?
Bush jumped in and said he looked Putin in the eye, and found him to be very straight forward, and “trustworthy”. Bush went on “I was able to get a sense of his soul, a man deeply committed to the interests of his Country”.
Bush was years later asked about his comments, and he said Russia was short term “broke” when Putin and he met, and after that oil prices began to recover and with the money came a changed Putin. Bush in 2018 would say Putin is a very aggressive person who wants to reinstate Soviet influence, even though the Soviet [Union] no longer exists, and therefore, I always felt it was very important for the United States to be very forceful in dealing with Putin. Not belligerent, but forceful," Bush said.
Now I have covered Russia for as long as Putin has been in power, so I have a bit of perspective over that 21 years on American Russian dialogue and increasingly bitter relations. But the comments made by American President Joe Biden in an interview with ABC News this week are jaw dropping and worth noting because they set the stage what may be combative and dangerous days between the worlds two biggest nuclear nations.
Biden said he met Putin in 2011 and told Putin he doesn’t have a soul. "I wasn't being a wise guy, I was alone with him in his office, that's how it came about.
"It was when President [George W.] Bush had said I've looked in his eyes and saw his soul. I said I looked in your eyes and I don't think you have a soul. And he looked back and said, 'we understand each other'."
And then yesterday Biden is asked do you think Putin is a killer? “Mmm hmm yes I do” he said “you’ll see shortly the price he’s going to pay.”
Now I’m no diplomat, but if they have some State Department file on wild things that are said by President’s, that surely would score a 10.5 because it’s jaw dropping.
In fairness former President Trump was once asked on his then favourite cable channel isn’t Putin a killer, and he responded “well America is not so innocent either”. But regardless Trump set the bar to a new low for U.S. Presidents and their view of Moscow, because he was used by Putin to further Russian interests in return for election meddling that would benefit Trump. An evil deal if there ever was one.
That assessment was made in a 15 page declassified U.S. intelligence report released Tuesday by the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence that Russian President Vladimir Putin knew of and likely directed a Russian effort to manipulate the 2020 U.S. presidential campaign to benefit former president Donald Trump with "misleading or unsubstantiated allegations" against challenger Joe Biden.
So for Biden it’s personal, because the report portrays "influence operations aimed at denigrating President Biden's candidacy and the Democratic Party” and Biden says in his first phone call with Putin he told him, I know you, and you know me, and if allegations of election meddling are found to be true there will be a price to be paid.
Those denigrating operations, included Russia facilitating leaks to Trump and his lawyer of the dealings of Biden and his son Hunter in Ukraine, which were framed in the most damning manner possible by Rudolph Guiliani during the campaign.
So it appears it’s pay back time for Biden who by next week will be announcing further sanctions against Russia and presumably Putin’s inner circle. And Biden so matter of factly will call Putin “a killer” and repeat the “no soul’ story with some obvious satisfaction.
Russia said Wednesday it had summoned its Washington ambassador to Moscow for consultations on its ties with the United States, but stressed it wanted to prevent an "irreversible deterioration" in relations.
I don’t think we’re about to enter an era of reversing corrosive relations with Russia. But, rather based on Bidens blunt talk, this is the beginning of a new chapter where America will confront Russia. So my read is tighten your seat belt, as Biden believes the best way to deal with Putin is to meet him head on, and a head on collision between America and Russia will be no small clash of nuclear super powers.