Tom Lasseter
McClatchy Newspapers
September 6, 2008
In the aftermath of last month’s war between Russia and U.S.-backed Georgia, Kremlin-watchers in Moscow are worried that Russia and America are closer to direct confrontation than at any point since the end of the Cold War.
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The rhetoric coming from the Bush administration — and presidential hopeful John McCain — suggests that tensions are still on the rise.
During the Cold War, “the sides were very careful of each other. They were careful not to come too close,” said Alexander Pikayev, a prominent military analyst in Moscow who works for a government-funded research center. “The risk of direct military clashes is (now) much higher. . . . This situation is much riskier than the Cold War.”
Both sympathizers and critics of Kremlin policy shared the assessment of a significantly heightened chance of conflict. They expressed hopes that cooler heads will prevail.
Vice President Dick Cheney put a spotlight on the standoff during visits to Georgia and Ukraine this week, the countries at the core of the row between Washington and Moscow. He told Georgians on Thursday that the United States will continue to back the country’s NATO application — which the Kremlin vehemently opposes — and said that Moscow’s intervention “cast grave doubt on Russia’s intentions and on its reliability as an international partner.”
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