SCOOP'S DEAD AND SO'S THE USSR :

In Russia, A Grudging Consensus (Masha Lipman, May 27, 2002, washingtonpost.com)

There seems to be a growing, if passive and reluctant, consensus that Russia needs to cooperate with the United States, even if Russians aren't fond of U.S. policies or values. The Russian public does not question Putin's policy, and his popularity keeps anti-Western conservatives from uniting against him.

In the United States, the persistence of Cold War attitudes can be seen in the Senate's recent refusal to terminate the Jackson-Vanik amendment, a trademark document of the Cold War punishing Russia for long-discarded practices of the Soviet police state. The same attitudes are found in the commonly expressed opinion that Russia's concessions are never enough.

If the neocons really wanted to be useful, instead of sniping about the Iraqi D-day they'd help repeal what remains their greatest achievement : Jackson-Vanik. Passage of the law was a signal moment in the winning of the Cold War, but that war's over and Russia is now one of our most important allies--time to treat them like one. Posted by Orrin Judd at May 28, 2002 8:52 AM