The New Cold War

I have been studying Russian History and Culture since I was 13 years old. There are few things in my life that have been that much of a constant in my life....I think the only other one is swimming competitively.

When the Soviet Union collapsed I figured the old Cold War think tanks weren't going to need me and I realized I wasn't going to be able to find a job related to my passion. The people who were needed were people who studied the Middle East and had a passion for the culture and history there....which wasn't me. So I ended up being mothballed with all the other relics from the Cold War.

I have never stopped following what is going on in Russia. Putin has scared me for years and his relationship with Bush makes me worried. There has been funky dynamics between them for years that have made me worry both for the US and for what it means for Russia. Now with what is playing out during the G8 summit makes me feel like there will be a new Cold War. I have to say, what did people expect with former KGB as President of Russia. I love the Russian people, they are a very loving, caring people, but I strongly believe in what the majority of the Russian people believe....never trust KGB. When Putin was saying that Bush had to win a second term because it would give international terrorism a new impulse and extra power, it made me question who Bush was even more then I questioned before. If Putin was backing Bush there is a problem.

Now we are back in the situation that we all know and love from the Cold War....with an argument between Russia and the US about placement of U.S. missile defense system. Then with the meeting between Bush and Putin in Maine next month...who knows what will happen then. Pravda is saying worse case scenario is that the New Cold War will have a start date of July 7, 2007. I am concerned that Bush will fumble this and that worse case scenario will happen. Bush seems to like to believe that foreign policy can be done with personality and charm and that doesn't work well for former KGB. The fact that in 2001 Bush said that he looked Putin in the eye and found him to be "straight forward and trustworthy. I was able to get a sense of his soul - a man deeply committed to his country and the interest of his country." Putin is former KGB...far from being straight forward and trustworthy.

Well with this all on my mind and reading Pravda and the St. Petersburg Times very closely, I am thinking I need to brushing up on my Russian again and maybe I can be removed from the mothballs.