A Russian Ruse

[occuserpens]

2006-03-06 Belkovskiy and Bourtman on Hamas visit to Russia

NaRe. Ilya Bourtman. A Russian Ruse
This is not the first time that Putin has used Israel as a marionette, nor will it be the last. Only last April, having failed to stop the color revolutions sweeping through the former Soviet republics, and facing falling polling numbers, Putin asked Israeli officials if he could travel to Jerusalem. Putin's visit laundered his image, but not his policy. His latest offer to Hamas comes as Moscow seeks to reaffirm its standing as a major international actor.

So long as U.S., Israeli, and certain European statesmen believe that Putin shares their interests on matters of geopolitics, let alone energy security, they will see their interests undermined again and again. Moscow's gala for Hamas should serve as evidence to the West that Putin is as likely to be working against them as with them.

[barb162]

1. Did you notice how Putin didn't meet with Hamas?

[occuserpens]

3. Sure

[bemildred]

2. Is this guy on drugs?

He just noticed that Pooty-Poot is two-faced and pursues his own interest? The most interesting thing about that dog-and-pony show with Hamas is that Pooty-Poot expects to get away with it. It is just an element in the failure of the isolation policy, although the Bushites don't seem to have given up on that yet. But that could just be because they have nothing to replace it with, being caught with their pants down around their ankles when Hamas won the election.

[occuserpens]

4. Belkovskiy explained all this

In fact, Putin's maneuvering is not far from that of Clintons. He is pretty pathetic.

[Scurrilous]

5. Opinion: And the Great Game goes on — Uri Avnery

<snip>

"Vladimir Putin, heir of czars and commissars, looked at the map. Looked and picked up the telephone to invite the Hamas leaders.

A hundred years ago, the whole expanse from India to Turkey was a battlefield between Russia and the main Western power at that time — the British Empire. Adventurers, spies, diplomats and plotters of all stripes roamed the area. This contest was known as The Great Game.

In time, the actors changed. The Bolsheviks took the place of the czars, the American empire succeeded the British. But the Great Game went on.

When the Soviet Union collapsed, it seemed as if the game had come to an end. Russian influence disappeared from the region. The Soviet empire dissolved, and what remained was too weak, too poor, to take part in the game. It had no jetons.

And now, with one stroke, Putin has changed everything. Inviting Hamas to Moscow was a gambit of genius: it didn’t cost anything, and it put Russia back on the map of the Middle East. While the whole world was still puzzled and confused by the Hamas victory, Putin used the sharp scalpel of unemotional logic and made the first move of a new game."

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[occuserpens]

6. Yes, it sounds nice

The problem is, there is no conflict analysis in this article. Just positive feelings towards Russia without any particular space for action :-(