ÿþ<html> <head> <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1"> <title>OnlineColumnist®.com: Duke's Damage Control</title> <meta name="generator" content="Adobe GoLive 4"> <style type="text/css"> .style1 { font-size: x-large; font-weight: bold; } </style> </head> <body bgcolor="white" vlink="black"> <center> <table cool width="624" height="2719" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" gridx="16" showgridx gridy="16" showgridy> <tr height="79"> <td width="116" height="118" rowspan="2" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0"> <a href="081609.html"><img height="110" width="62" src="images/discobolos.logo.transp.gif" border="0"></a></td> <td width="24" height="118" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="465" height="79" colspan="2" valign="top" align="left" xpos="140"><img height="75" width="450" src="images/banner.GIF"></td> <td width="18" height="118" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="1" height="79"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="79"></td> </tr> <tr height="39"> <td width="182" height="39"></td> <td width="283" height="39" valign="top" align="left" xpos="322"><a href="aboutdiscobolos.html"><img height="14" width="267" src="images/divisionofNEW.GIF" border="0"></a></td> <td width="1" height="39"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="39"></td> </tr> <tr height="26"> <td width="624" height="26" colspan="6" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0"> <table border="0" width="100%" bgcolor="black" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td> <table border="0" width="100%" bgcolor="#99ffcc" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="4"> <tr> <td align="center"> <div align="left"> <a href="index.html"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong> HOME</strong></font></a><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong> &#8226; <a href="articlesindex.html">ARTICLES</a> &#8226; <a href="books.html">BOOKS</a> &#8226; <a href="teflon.html"> THE </a><a href="teflon.html">TEFLON</a><a href="teflon.html"> REPORT</a> &#8226; <a href="mailto:letters@onlinecolumnist.com"> REACTIONS</a> &#8226; <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html">ABOUT DISCOBOLOS</a></strong></font></div> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> <tr height="1"> <td width="116" height="2574" rowspan="2" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0"><img height="172" width="111" src="images/johninframe3.jpg"></td> <td width="489" height="1" colspan="3"></td> <td width="18" height="2574" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="1" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="1"></td> </tr> <tr height="2573"> <td width="489" height="2573" colspan="3" align="left" xpos="116" content valign="top" csheight="2573"> <font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="5"><b> <br /> <br /> Putin&#39;s Continued Clout</b></font><p><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><b> by John M. Curtis<br> (310) 204-8700</b><br> </font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><i>Copyright Oct. 14, 2009<br> All Rights Reserved.</i></font></p> <p><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span><span class="style1">C</span>ounting on help to restrain Iran s nuclear ambitions in the U.N. Security Council, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, got little help from Russia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, whose schedule precluded a direct meeting with Hillary, warned against intimidating Iran, insisting it was premature to talk about more sanctions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>After President Barack Obama scuttled plans for missile defense in Eastern Europe, the White House hoped the good will gesture would win more Russian support on the Security Council.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> There is no need to frighten the Iranians, Putin told reporters in Beijing, after consummating a multibillion-dollar natural gas deal with the Peoples Republic of China.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>To deal with mounting international pressure, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad reluctantly agreed Oct. 1 to inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>U.S. authorities believe that Iran s 11th-hour move was designed to placate the U.N., specifically Mohamed ElBaradei, behind whom the Tehran hides its feverish pursuit of nuclear weapons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Iran agreed Oct. 1 in Geneva to permit ElBaradei back into Iranian nuclear facilities and allow a third party, perhaps Russia and France, to remove enriched uranium for reprocessing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>  Wee need to look for a compromise.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> If a compromise is not found, and the discussions end in a fiasco, then we will see, said Putin about the possibility of further U.N. sanctions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>White House officials hoped to have Russia lined up behind real sanctions designed to force Tehran from enriching uranium.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Obama has followed the doctrine of former President George W. Bush that the U.S. won t permit Tehran to develop an A-bomb.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Putin has his eyes set back on the Russian presidency.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Fighting two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S. has less leverage with Iran.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Ahamdinejad, backed by Iran s Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, knows that the U.S. won t open up a third front to stop Iran from enriching uranium.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Threats by the Bush administration and Israel haven t stopped Tehran from building a new enrichment facility near the ancient city of Qom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Russia has deep business ties with Tehran, collaborating on Iran s multibillion-dollar Bushehr heavy-water reactor, potentially capable of producing weapons grade plutonium.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> And if now, before making any steps [toward holding talks] we start announcing sanctions, then we won t be creating favorable conditions for them [talks] to end positively.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>This why it is premature to talk about them now, said Putin, leaning away from sanctions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Putin s position ties the U.S. hands to end Tehran s nuclear ambitions.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Putin is well-aware of U.S. plans to escalate the Afghan War, something opposed by Moscow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Putin doesn t like to admit failure, especially where over 13,000 Russians went to their graves at the hands of the Taliban and Osama bin Laden s mujahedeen fighters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>No one knows better than Putin about how the U.S. funded Bin Laden and, inadvertently, Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar to eventually topple the Russian-backed Afghan government.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>With revenues from oil and natural gas dwindling, Putin has bigger fish to fry than cutting deals with Hillary to back more sanctions against Iran.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> Rescinding Bush s missile defense in Poland and the Czech Republic was a smart move by Obama regardless of whether Putin backs sanctions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Destablizing relations with Russia was bad foreign policy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>If the U.S. escalates the Afghan War, it s better to be on friendly terms with Russia.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Obama s overture toward Russia has not gone unnoticed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> We are being guided by what the head of the American state is saying, said Putin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> He said there would be no anti-missile shield in Europe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>We are satisfied with the statement, and to make assumptions what happens next is not quite right, concerned that not backing more sanctions might result in a reversal of U.S. policy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Putin knows Obama has a full plate battling unemployment, pulling the U.S. out of recession and fighting two wars.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>He doesn t have to cut deals with the U.S. on Iran to seek cooperation on host of mutual interests.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Whether admitted to or not, there s little the U.S. can do without the Security Council to discourage Iran from enriching uranium.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Threatening more sanctions or military action does little other than push Iran to enrich more uranium and form tighter bonds with U.S. enemies.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Putin reminded the White House that pressure doesn t influence Russia s decisions on the U.N. Security Council.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>His wait-and-see approach serves Russia s close business ties with Iran s mullahs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Putin isn t about to rock the boat because Hillary seeks reciprocation for Barack s decision to terminate missile defense in Eastern Europe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>  We treated the decision with reserve, calmly, said Vladimir.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> In any case, the country s leadership accepted it with understanding and gratitude.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>We believe this was Obama s right and courageous decision, expressing appreciation for ending missile defense.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Looking at the big picture, Obama and his secretary of state would be well-advised to stop pressuring the Security Council for more sanctions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> Balancing Iran s right to peaceful nuclear energy, all Security Council members have an equally vested interest in keeping Iran from getting the bomb.</p> <p><b>John M. Curtis</b> writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news.&nbsp; He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of <a href="books.html">Dodging The Bullet </a>and <a href="books.html">Operation Charisma.</a></p> </td> <td width="1" height="2573"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="2573"></td> </tr> <tr height="1" cntrlrow> <td width="116" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="116" height="1"></td> <td width="24" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="24" height="1"></td> <td width="182" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="182" height="1"></td> <td width="283" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="283" height="1"></td> <td width="18" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="18" height="1"></td> <td width="1" height="1"></td> </tr> </table> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="2" width="597"> <tr> <td><font size="1" face="Arial,Geneva,Helvetica"> <hr noshade size="1"> </font><a href="index.html"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong> Homene.net" target="_blank">img height="30" width="138" src="images/cmelogoANIM.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle"></a></font></p> </div> <p><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular">&copy;1999-2002 <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html">Discobolos Consulting Services, Inc.</a><br> (310) 204-8300<br> All Rights Reserved. </font></td> </tr> </table> </center> </body> </html>