TIME EUROPE
August 28, 2000, Vol. 156 No. 9
Viewpoint
Divided They Fall
The U.S. and Russia must learn to communicate
By CHRISTOPHER OGDEN Washington
The Kursk incident was the latest indication that something is seriously awry in relations between the U.S. and Russia. In Washington, the first reaction focused on the human tragedy, followed quickly by a widespread assumption that the submarine's destruction was a metaphor for the collapse of Russia's military. Whether that's fair is another matter, and there was no "It-can't-happen-here" talk in the U.S. because it already has. In 1963, the nuclear-powered U.S.S. Thresher sank off Massachusetts, killing all 129 aboard, and in 1968 another American nuclear submarine, the U.S.S. Scorpion, was similarly lost with 99 on board. An investigation found the Thresher's welds had been improperly tested: the Scorpion's sinking is believed to have been caused by a faulty torpedo. So each nation has had reason to mourn.
What's important is that tragedy does not escalate into catastrophe — which could happen if the Russian military did collapse. With Russia's economy already a shambles, a military implosion could lead to loss of control over Russia's nuclear, chemical and biological arsenals. No responsible state wants to face that nightmare, certainly not the U.S., for which engagement, not isolation, is by far the best course for dealing with post-communist Russia.
Washington has done some things right in that regard. The Clinton administration worked hard to reduce nuclear warhead numbers on both sides and to denuclearize Belarus and Ukraine. U.S. ties to the independent states in Central Asia and the Caucasus have improved. nato protection was extended to Eastern Europe in a nonthreatening fashion.
But there have also been serious policy failures. Progress on strategic arms agreements has ceased. Ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty failed. Our approach to missile defense and amending the Antiballistic Missile Treaty pays insufficient regard to Russia's concerns. Congress needs to invest more money in the Nunn-Lugar program which funds the dismantling of Russia's eroding reactors and nuclear stockpiles. Too much financial aid was dispensed to corrupt "reformers." Relations with the Boris Yeltsin and Vladimir Putin governments were overpersonalized. Expectations were inflated: Russia is not democratic, does not have healthy markets and is not a "strategic partner" of the West. Making excuses for Russia's wars against Chechnya was a travesty.
Any healthy relationship is a two-way street, and plenty of work is needed on Moscow's lane. Concerns about Russia's tendency toward authoritarianism and endemic corruption are well-founded. For Russia to modernize, an honest dialogue with the West, and especially the U.S., is imperative. Had one existed last week, and had Putin put aside his cold suspicions and picked up his phone earlier, something positive for both countries might have emerged from the terrible tragedy of the Kursk.
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August 28, 2000
COVER STORY
Death Watch
A collision or explosion sank the Kursk, but the real cause of the tragedy was the rapid deterioration of Russia's rusting and underfunded armed forces
Failed Ambitions
Putin's dream falls short of reality
Why Did Our Boys Have to Die
At the Kursk's home port, and across Russia, grieving families ask some awkward questions
Death in the Silent Service
Some major accidents aboard nuclear-powered submarines
Divided They Fall
The U.S. and Russia must learn to communicate
MIDDLE EAST
Reform Overruled
Iran's Supreme Leader quashes efforts to lift press constraints, angering those working for progress
AFRICA
Law in Search of Order
Northern Nigeria's Christian community is nervous as a strict Islamic judicial system is reintroduced
BUSINESS
Architect of Reform
Hans Eichel's success in rewriting the tax code will have far-reaching impact on the German economy
SOCIETY
Face Lift in a Jar?
More effective than makeup but not as powerful as drugs, cosmeceuticals promise to turn back the clock on aging skin
ARTS
The Great Divide
Shocked by the radical changes in her homeland after the 1979 revolution, Iranian-born Shirin Neshat tries to understand and explain Islam through her art
DEPARTMENTS
World Watch
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
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