September 10, 2004
BARELY IN THEIR GRAVES
Putin out of favour with EU comrades (Catherine Field, New Zealand Herald, September 11th, 2004)
The Beslan hostage crisis has unleashed what could be the start of a rethink of Europe's ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin.Previously seen as sharp-minded but enigmatic, Putin's image since the bloodbath in North Ossetia has undergone a dramatic transformation in Europe where some are painting him as brutal, clumsy and autocratic.
Questions are now being asked - not only about his Government's handling of the crisis in which hundreds of abducted schoolchildren and their parents were slaughtered in a shoot-out between troops and hostage-takers - but also about his policy in the powder-keg region that straddles southern Russia and northwest Asia.
Many European newspapers are deeply critical of Russian stonewalling about key aspects of the tragedy.
They have demanded to know who the hostage-takers were and what their aims were, why the building was stormed and whether the Russian authorities had been intent on negotiating. [...]
Some European politicians have also started to distance themselves from Putin who, in any case, had no big buddy in Europe as he supposedly has in President George W. Bush.
Leaders have bitterly condemned the hostage-takers and voiced deep sorrow at the loss of lives. But none has congratulated Putin for his handling of the crisis or even sympathised with him for its outcome.
It sure doesn’t take long for the Europeans to turn on you when your citizens are murdered by terrorists. Posted by Peter Burnet at September 10, 2004 2:41 PM
You have to be able to separate a flawed Russian policy towards the Chechens from the necessary actions to fight terrorists, don't you? Unless your European...
Posted by: oj at September 10, 2004 2:49 PMSure, disagreement on Chechnya is one thing, but these Euro/Canadian/Human Rights Watch automatons are just clicking into their "What did you do wrong to cause this?" mentality. This is hardly the time to go public.
But they are flirting with some serious problems. The U.S. has announced troop withdrawls from Europe, the President is likely to re-elected, Putin is very popular (and elected) and the Russians are now livid with them. Not smart.
Posted by: Peter B at September 10, 2004 3:06 PMJust wait until Chirac or Schroeder has to stand before the press and explain 400 dead. The EU would split over a heavy-handed response by either country, and would die if the appeasement continued after a major attack.
Posted by: jim hamlen at September 10, 2004 3:16 PMBoy he 'squandered' the EU 'goodwill' quickly, didn't he?
What was that? There never was any 'goodwill'? That makes sense.
Posted by: NKR at September 10, 2004 3:23 PMGee, at least we got French lip-service ("We are all Americans now") for a week or two after September 11.
Posted by: Fred Jacobsen (San Fran) at September 10, 2004 3:23 PMThis should wake Russia up that the US is a better ally than Europe and that Russia should start acting accordingly.
Posted by: AWW at September 10, 2004 3:34 PMWhat's with it, with the Europeans "demanding" information from a sovereign country? Why do they think they have the right to make such demands? And why are they asking the Russians who they were and what were their aims? Why don't they ask the perpetrators?
Ray -
Because perpetrators are innocent. Victims are the guilty.
C'mon, get with the program.
Posted by: Andrew X at September 10, 2004 7:52 PMOJ and Chirac-- Perfect together!
Europeans have never been disturbed by Russian deaths, and in fact many French and Germans are as happy about that as their parents were about the Shoah. Putin needs to realize that Europe is over, its dead, mort, gestorben. The only way he can preserve his nation is to back the US in the WOT. His nation has a far more direct threat from the Muslims that even we do. We may be the Great Satan, but Russia is the Satan in the Neighborhood.
Posted by: Bart at September 11, 2004 7:03 AM