Dear David,

Your comment is right on, and the Washington Post editorial (like several earlier ones) is outrageous. There are many things happening in Russia that are not in Russia's interest in the long run. There have been quite a few things happening in the U.S., and actions by the U.S., that are not in our interest. We have to stop sniping at each other and concentrate on our mutual interests, the most important of which is to continue the course set by Reagan, Gorbachev, and Bush the 41st to continue reduction of nuclear weapons and to stop acting as if they are sources of power. We will not constrain proliferation if we continue our present policies that can only give us another dangerous and costly arms race.

If most Russians are more comfortable with a more authoritarian government at home than Americans would be, that is their business. If Russia uses its energy resources as instruments of national power, it is doing only what any country would do--and which the U.S. traditionally has done. A rational U.S. would act promptly to decrease dependence on imported oil and thus reduce the leverage countries like Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Russia have on world markets. (My guess is that much more money going to Saudi Arabia is being used to finance radical Islam, than the money going to Russia.)

In short, it is time to tone down the rhetoric and get back to basics. We contributed greatly to the surge of nationalism in Russia today by our policies in the 1990s, and particularly by the unilateral course the current Bush administration has taken. This doesn't make us responsible for Putin's unfortunate actions, but our policies certainly harmed the democratic forces in Russia and contributed to the current mindset in Russia.