Russia Wants Help Fighting Terrorism

For the Moscow Times, Andrew C. Kuchins and Dmitry Trenin have authored a piece that assesses the history and future of terrorism in Russia. The blame for the Beslan murders, the several recent Moscow bombings, and the downing of two Russian airliners is clearly placed on the shoulders of President Putin, but not without a caveat. Putin stated earlier this month that Russia's response to terrorism is a disaster because "dark and mysterious forces" are seeking to weaken Russia. The dark and mysterious forces Putin referred to are those of the United States. The authors agree with Putin, however, they do not believe there is malice involved. They believe the United States has just been neglecting to provide all the assistance Russia needs.

Wait a minute, Russia refused to provide any help to the U.S. in ousting Saddam Hussein and has forcefully worked against the U.S. position before the United Nations Security Council. Specific U.S. offers to help after terrorist attacks have been refused. And consistently, American diplomatic efforts have been coldly rebuffed as Russia decided to ally itself with the spineless Old Europeans, France and Germany. All this is happening while Putin progresses slowly in returning Russia to an authoritarian police state, although he's pledged unconvincingly to stick with democracy and the free market. He's even cozying up to the Kyoto Protocols which the U.S. adamantly opposes. If neglect is to be attached anywhere, it should be directed towards Putin who has consistently backed the losing horse and neglected to treat the U.S. as a friend. It is outrageous to fault the U.S. for Putin's lack of foresight and general ineptitude.

Contending that the U.S. should cease neglecting Russia, Kuchins and Trenin maintain that the following actions are necessary to properly support President Putin in fighting terrorism:

1) much fuller sharing of intelligence information;
2) material and technical support to better secure Russian borders, airports, other transportation infrastructure and nuclear power stations as well as nuclear and chemical weapons and materials;
3) more assistance to close off sources of financing from abroad for terrorist groups on Russian territory; and
4) training and possibly direct operational assistance in the search and capture of terrorists.

Don't want much, do they? Quite interestingly, Putin throws his few cents into the whiny "We-Need-Help" effort by pleading to the media for help in combating terrorism. Best of luck, Vlad, you'll need it. Also, good luck with the U.S. helping secure the borders since about 3,000 Mexicans will have to sneak into Russia every night to meet strict American border security standards.

Although Kuchins and Trenin do acknowledge that the U.S. is fully justified in having reservations about Putin's goals and motives, they strongly believe that Russia should be given assistance by America, but don't mention what Putin is willing to do to accommodate the interests of the United States, if anything. Their argument is strong, but strictly for the benefit of Russia. A prudent diplomat would expect some sort of concessions from Putin in return for substantive support from the U.S.