"Onslaught in Georgia leaves US rethinking ties to Russia; Gates warns Kremlin has jeopardized arms talks, geopolitical cooperation" by Steven Lee Myers and Thom Shanker, New York Times News Service | August 15, 2008
WASHINGTON - Russia's military offensive into Georgia has jolted the Bush administration's relationship with Moscow, senior officials said yesterday, forcing a wholesale reassessment of American dealings with Russia and jeopardizing talks on everything from halting Iran's nuclear ambitions to reducing strategic arsenals to cooperating on missile defenses.
Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates said the Russian attack had forced a fundamental rethinking of the administration's effort to forge "an ongoing and long-term strategic dialogue with Russia."
"Russia's behavior over the past week has called into question the entire premise of that dialogue and has profound implications for our security relationship going forward, both bilaterally and with NATO," Gates said at the Pentagon. "If Russia does not step back from its aggressive posture and actions in Georgia, the US-Russian relationship could be adversely affected for years to come."
The unspoken new danger is that a cooling relationship could cost the administration any hope of working closely with Russia on some of its top priorities, such as controlling nuclear proliferation, countering terrorism, or resolving the problems of the Middle East.
Bush has not directly addressed his relationship with Putin or his successor, President Dmitri A. Medvedev, and his aides declined yesterday to discuss his views. But he has bluntly warned Russia that it risked losing its international standing.
At least they had some to lose; the U.S. has ZIP because of this damnable war-criminal!!!!
For a second day, an American C-17 cargo plane arrived in Georgia bearing relief supplies, encountering no interference from Russian forces. Bush ordered the military-run operation on Wednesday, setting up what administration officials described as a direct challenge to Russia to keep its promise to allow humanitarian aid. A small team of Pentagon officials arrived to assess how best to funnel relief supplies to those injured or displaced by the conflict.
Gates and General James E. Cartwright, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at a Pentagon briefing that American forces have the right to self-defense but said that he did not anticipate that they would have to resort to force to distribute the medicine and shelters.
Gates stressed that he was not predicting a return to the Cold War and said that overall, the United States response to the crisis was restrained. "The United States spent 45 years working very hard to avoid a military confrontation with Russia," Gates said. "I see no reason to change that approach today."
But YOUR BOSSES DO, shitter!!!
Gates is one of the administration's experts on Soviet and Russian policies and previously served as the director of Central Intelligence while spending his career studying the Kremlin and its efforts to exert influence around the world.
If so, then HOW did he FUCK UP so much, huh?
"Gates rejected reports on subjects that included the Soviet role in terrorism and Soviet influence on Iran that did not fit his preconceptions. Sometimes he sent back reports he did not like “stapled to the burn bag,” implying they should be destroyed. In 1989, Gates requested a C.I.A. memorandum on Soviet prospects if Mikhail S. Gorbachev did not last. An initial version, allowing for the possibility that reform would continue under Boris N. Yeltsin or another leader, was rejected because Mr. Gates wanted the paper to predict a return to neo-Stalinism. Gates was a brutal manager to people who stood up to him. --MORE--"
Translation: He is a Neo-Con scumbag just like the rest, despite the shit political fooleys of administration disagreements!
"What happens in the days and months to come will determine the future course of US-Russian relations," he said. "But by the same token, my personal view is that there needs to be some consequences for the actions that Russia has taken against a sovereign state."
Told ya!
In addition, Gates said, the Defense Department "will reexamine the entire gamut of our military-to-military activities with Russia and will make changes as necessary and appropriate, depending on Russian actions in the days ahead.
--more--"
Like the Russians really give a shit at this point.
