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ON THE SIDELINE of this week's G8 Summit at Gleneagles, US President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet one on one. Atop their agenda will be commitments they made four months ago in Bratislava to address an issue even more important to the well-being of Russian and American citizens than African aid and climate change, the issues that will headline the G8. Recall the first televised presidential debate last fall when the moderator asked both President Bush and Senator John Kerry: ''What is the single most serious threat to American national security?" Both answered: nuclear terrorism....

An American Traitor: Guilty As Charged By Henry Mark Holzer and Erika HolzerFrontPageMagazine.com | June 10, 2005For three decades Jane Fonda obfuscated, distorted and lied about virtually everything connected with her wartime trip to North Vietnam: her motive, her acts, her intent, and her contribution to the Communists’ war effort.  With the aid of clever handlers, she so successfully suppressed and spun her conduct in Hanoi that many Americans didn’t know what she had done there, and, more important, the legal significance. Three years ago, our book, “Aid and Comfort”: Jane Fonda in North Vietnam (McFarland & Co.), laid bare...

The failed summit between Bush and Putin can haunt the world for years to come Staff Reporter Mar. 1, 2005 Putin heard a solid lecture on democracy from Bush last week. Putin came out and said “Russia’s path to democracy cannot be reversed.” Then in a two day time frame Russia sold nuclear reactors to Iran and finalized sophisticated missile deal with the Baathist regime of Syria. What does that tell you? Well it is simple. Russians could not be rude with Bush. They just showed their response through their action in Syria and Iran. Russians are fed up of...

Five days that shook world politicsBy M K Bhadrakumar There is no Cold War ahead. Yet the period between February 20 and 24 was extraordinary. Seldom have fault-lines in world politics surfaced with such clarity. If the principal objective of President George Bush's European tour (February 20-24) was to heal trans-Atlantic rifts stemming from the great differences over the Iraq war, it was a success. Europe was willing to let bygones be bygones. But it became apparent during Bush's harmonious tour of "Old Europe" that profound differences remained between the European vision and the neo-conservative world view that the Bush...

The Presidents of the Russian Federation and the United States of America stressed that there are more points in common than differences at a time when the international policy of Washington has put a strain on its relations with the international community. Furthermore, unnecessary provocation by George W. Bush regarding internal affairs in the Russian Federation created a wholly avoidable climate of tension around this Summit, which was dispersed through the goodwill of both Heads of State. Nevertheless, the Russian President was firm and resolute in refuting the veiled criticism leveled against Russia by the President of the USA. By...

George Bush knew Vladimir Putin would be defensive when Bush brought up the pace of democratic reform in Russia in their private meeting at the end of Bush's four-day, three-city tour of Europe. But when Bush talked about the Kremlin's crackdown on the media and explained that democracies require a free press, the Russian leader gave a rebuttal that left the President nonplussed, TIME magazine will report on Monday. If the press was so free in the U.S., Putin asked, then why had those reporters at CBS lost their jobs? Bush was openmouthed. "Putin thought we'd fired Dan Rather," says...

# NEW YORK, Feb. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- When George W. Bush confronted Vladimir Putin last week about the freedom of the press in Russia, Senior White House Correspondent Richard Wolffe reports, Putin shot back with an attack of his own: "We didn't criticize you when you fired those reporters at CBS." Details of the meeting, which included just the two presidents and their translators inside the historic castle that overlooks the Slovak capital of Bratislava, are reported in the March 7 issue of Newsweek (on newsstands Monday, February 28). It's not clear how well Putin understands the controversy that led...

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia The popular uprisings in Georgia and Ukraine have raised the morale of the small opposition movements in Belarus and Moldova, and they said Wednesday that they were more determined than ever to continue the struggle for democracy. . "It will take time, but it will come," said Andrei Safonov, a political analyst and journalist from Transnistria, a separatist and internationally unrecognized enclave in eastern Moldova that is ruled by an authoritarian group backed by Moscow. . Civil society groups attending a conference in Bratislava on Wednesday, the day before President George W. Bush was to meet with President...

President Bush and Russian President Putin seemed to get along famously last Thursday in Bratislava. And at their post-meeting press conference, President Bush was visibly pleased when Putin stated publicly that Russia’s choice of democracy will never be reversed. Unfortunately, there is no connection between what Putin says and what he does. In the last few years he has steadily eroded Russia’s democracy; today that country is, in fact, the only major country that is less democratic today than it was when President Bush took office in January 2001. And Putin’s recent decisions to go ahead with its sale of...

Bratislava (Slovakia), Feb. 25 (Reuters): Incensed by US talk of a lack of press freedom in Russia, two Russian reporters tried to turn the tables on President George W. Bush during his summit news conference with Vladimir Putin yesterday. After Bush said he had raised concerns about Russia’s democracy in talks with the Russian President and felt reassured, he suddenly found himself on the defensive. “What is that lack of freedom all about?” a reporter from the Russian news agency Interfax asked the US President. Before Bush could answer, the reporter then turned on Putin and demanded to know why...

Equipped with idealistic rhetoric and armed with a mandated reelection, President Bush trekked his way through Europe this week with a pocket full of political bargaining chips. This is a multi-tiered trip with layered intentions. At face value, it is an effort to strengthen the diplomatic and political ties that have been weakened in the last four years. However there are deeper motivations in play. There are very particular issues that need a political coalition to confront, namely the Iran/Syria axis, and the hazy role that Russia is playing in the matter. However, deep in some of our hearts, we...

The Washington Timeswww.washingtontimes.com Slovakia leader hits media on Bush slantBy Bill SammonTHE WASHINGTON TIMESPublished February 25, 2005 BRATISLAVA, Slovakia -- The prime minister of Slovakia yesterday blamed the media for unfairly turning the European public against President Bush by negatively slanting coverage on Iraq.     After meeting with Mr. Bush twice in less than a week, Prime Minister Mikulas Dzurinda told reporters that the president also blamed the press for portraying him as eager to invade Iran to eradicate its nuclear program.     "President Bush told me in Brussels: 'I am so unhappy that media creates the picture that Bush wants...

US President Bush's love fest with Europe continued on Thursday in Bratislava. Sort of. Leading up to the US-Russia summit, Bush fired off some heavy critiques in the direction of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The partnership, however, remains strong. Could Europe learn from Bush's heavy-handedness? The post-meeting press conference in Bratislava on Thursday evening featuring US President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin was more or less exactly what was expected. Indeed, it was a lot like the atmosphere Bush had sought to create throughout his five-day trip through Europe. Friendly. Positive. Stressing areas of agreement. Indeed, while...

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President Bush’s moral-high-ground, idea-driven foreign policy was well represented in an uber-speech he delivered in Brussels and throughout his trip to Old and New Europe this week. He again pulled from Natan Sharansky’s big thought on the transforming power of democracy and freedom, stating in Brussels that “Regimes that terrorize their own people will not hesitate to support terror abroad,” that “the false stability of dictatorship and stagnation can only lead to deeper resentment,” and that “Lasting successful reform in a broader Middle East will not be imposed from the outside. It must be chosen from within.” So, while...

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) - Russian President Vladimir Putin gave a glowing assessment Friday of his meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush, calling it very positive and saying it set an agenda for cooperation in the coming years. "We are satisfied with the talks and their results. I have the feeling that our American partners would have the same assessment," Putin said at a news conference with Slovakia's president a day after his summit with Bush. "The meeting went in a very positive way, in its character and in the chosen themes." Putin said he spoke to Bush for at...

For Immediate ReleaseOffice of the Press SecretaryFebruary 24, 2005 President and President Putin Discuss Strong U.S.-Russian Partnership Constitution HallBratislava CastleBratislava, Slovakia 5:50 P.M. (Local) PRESIDENT BUSH: Thank you all. I've just had a very important and constructive dialogue with my friend. It's great to see -- I know Laura was pleased to see Lyudmila Putin, as well. We have had, over the past four years, very constructive relations, and that's the way I'm going to keep it for the next four years, as well. We've had an open and candid exchange of views and positions. In our meeting earlier...

At last President George W Bush found some European fans yesterday. After three days of muted receptions, Mr Bush received a far cheerier welcome behind the old Iron Curtain as enthusiastic Slovaks applauded him for visiting them on the last stop of his tour across the continent.Thousands of Slovaks defied swirling snow and a bitter wind to wait for several hours to hear Mr Bush speak in the heart of their capital, Bratislava. "We love him," said Arlena Turceanova, a 47-year-old lawyer, bursting with the pride felt by many Slovaks that Mr Bush chose their little country for his third...

President Bush continued his European trip today as he spoke in Bratislava, Slovakia to an enthusiastic crowd. The President later met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and both later spoke to the media. The First Couple also gave their best wishes to Pope John Paul II, who is recovering from emergency surgery. Enjoy your daily dose of Dubya!

While ABC and NBC stressed the "united" front against Iran presented by President Bush and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, CBS's John Roberts only grudgingly acknowledged that Bush and Schroeder "papered over their differences long enough today to present a united front against Iran." Roberts asserted that Bush's "hard line" on Iran "has the majority of Germans believing that Mr. Bush will take military action." Citing Bush's statement that "all options are on the table," over video of anti-Bush protesters and their signs, Roberts insisted Bush's "statement was jarring to European nations, who are just now getting over the Iraq War."...

WASHINGTON - Vladimir Putin (news - web sites), the former KGB officer at the helm of Russia's fitful democratic experiment, and George Bush (news - web sites), leader of the world's most powerful democracy, delivered dueling civics lessons Thursday on the principles of free societies. AP Photo   Though cordial as they stood side by side, Bush and Putin addressed serious differences over what the West views as erosion of recent democratic freedoms in Russia. At a news conference following their lengthy meeting in Slovakia, the leaders at first highlighted agreements designed to counter the spread of both conventional and...

President Bush won an enthusiastic welcome in Slovakia Thursday, the first warm public reception of his European tour, underscoring a divide within Europe between the west and newly democratic east. The contrast could not have been greater between Germany, where Bush's visit drew 12,000 protesters Wednesday, and Slovakia, where a crowd of about 4,000 braved blowing snow to cheer and applaud during an open-air speech. Bush then took his first plunge into a crowd on the last day of a five-day European tour and was swamped by enthusiastic Slovaks for several minutes as he made his way off the old...

Bratislava, Slovakia, Feb. 24 (UPI) -- We may not yet be talking about divorce but the extended honeymoon period between U.S President George W. Bush and his increasingly autocratic Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin came to a definitive end Thursday at a summit between the two leaders in the Slovak capital of Bratislava. It all happened following the end of bilateral talks when a televised press conference turned into a relentless and devastating assault on Putin's backsliding on democratic reform. Since global democratization has been made the centerpiece of Bush's second term foreign policy agenda, analysts and politicians in the United...

Addressing a packed Hviezdoslavovo Square in Bratislava, Slovak Republic, President Bush today hailed images of “jubilant Iraqis dancing in the streets last month, holding up ink-stained fingers.” “In recent times, we have witnessed landmark events in the history of liberty: A Rose Revolution in Georgia, an Orange Revolution in Ukraine, and now, a Purple Revolution in Iraq.” Developing.... BUSH PRAISES FLAT TAX Thu Feb 24 2005 10:04:04 ET President Bush, who has pledged to reform the U.S. tax code in his second term, today praised the flat tax implemented by Prime Minister Mikulas Dzurinda of the Slovak Republic. During their...

The summit in Slovakia on February 24th between US President George W Bush and Russia’s Vladimir Putin will bear little resemblance to their first meeting in Slovenia in mid-2001, when Mr Bush said he had looked Mr Putin in the eye and "was able to get a sense of his soul." At that summit both men were new, inexperienced leaders on the world stage. This may have helped them forge the personal bond that culminated in a fleeting strategic partnership after September 11th of that year. The personal rapport, reaffirmed at subsequent meetings, has so far survived continued and deepening...

At first glance, Bratislava might not seem like the most glamorous place for the presidents of the United States and Russia to meet. From the stolid castle where the talks will take place on Thursday, the most striking view is south, across the Danube, to a housing project where apartment blocks stands one behind the other until their rooftops meet the horizon under a brown winter sun. But no city in Europe better reflects President George W. Bush's faith in the providential hand of liberty in human affairs. Prague can boast of its golden domes and philosopher kings; Budapest and...

News conference starting shortly..

Bratislava, Slovakia; 24 February 2005 (RFE/RL) -- As expected, President Bush received the warmest reception of his European tour in Slovakia -- part of what U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld last year termed the "new Europe." Despite the cold and snowy weather, thousands of Slovaks turned out on one of Bratislava's main squares to hear the U.S. president speak words of admiration for their country's transition from communism to a fully fledged democracy. On his previous stops in Brussels and Mainz, Germany, Bush addressed politicians and carefully selected audiences at indoor events as he tried to smooth over rifts in...

If George W. had lost in November, the neocons and the foreign-policy initiatives they espoused, specifically taking the war on terror to Iraq, would have been blamed. Big time, as Dick Cheney would say. If the Iraqi elections had not been such a stunning success, with men and women walking through the early-morning darkness to get in line to cast their ballots with pride, excitement and disdain for the threats of mayhem by the insurgents, the neocons would have been blamed for that, too. If George W. should return home from Bratislava without giving Vladimir Putin a polite piece of...

We're on the map! By Beata Balogová, Julie Garrison Frederick and Magdalena MacLeod Spectator staff The visit of Presidents Bush and Putin transforms Bratislava into the most protected European capital on February 24 photo: TASR BRATISLAVA will gain unprecedented publicity by hosting the February 24 summit between Presidents Vladimir Putin and George Bush. For four days, it will also be the most protected city in the Central European region. The Slovak police and the country's intelligence service have been busy with special security measures, not least because US President Bush will make a public appearance. Foreign Affairs Minister Eduard Kukan...

Russian leader might target foreign policyWASHINGTON -- President Bush's determined effort to bring up Russia's crackdown on independent businesses and internal dissent with President Vladimir Putin when they meet this week is likely to get a tart response, according to the Russian ambassador to the United States, Yuri Ushakov.In written answers to questions submitted before Bush left for Europe on Sunday, Ushakov said Putin was likely to respond to Bush's criticism by raising "our own concerns about the situation in the United States and certain troubling aspects of Washington's policies." He said "parts of public opinion in Russia are not...

Tomorrow's meeting between President Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Bratislava could be the most difficult for Mr. Bush in a week that has had its share of challenging moments. Clearly, he wanted to lose no time in raising his democracy and freedom agenda and his concerns about the way Russia has been sliding back from those goals with the man he has considered his international partner and friend. Slowly, Mr. Bush is setting American policy toward Russia on a different course. It is a correction that is timely, if not overdue. Click to learn more... A former KGB...

Putin Parries Bush's Comments on Democracy in Russia By Sergei Blagov CNSNews.com Correspondent February 23, 2005 Moscow (CNSNews.com) -- Ahead of a summit with President Bush in Slovakia, Russian President Vladimir Putin has fended off strong comments by his American counterpart about the Kremlin's shifts towards authoritarianism. Bush called on European leaders this week to join him in urging Putin to embrace political reform, and to challenge him on recent measures such as restrictions on press freedom and the centralizing of power. But in an interview with Slovak media, Putin said the principles and institutions of democracy "must be adapted...

President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President George W. Bush's meeting in Bratislava this Thursday will set the tone for U.S.-Russian relations for their respective second terms. Four years ago in Ljubljana, Bush looked into Putin's soul and found a man he could trust. As Margaret Thatcher concluded about Mikhail Gorbachev nearly 20 years earlier, Bush decided he could do business with Putin. After a brief honeymoon highlighted by cooperating to defeat the Taliban in Afghanistan, the relationship has drifted, and differences have mounted over many issues, most recently Ukraine. Now the two presidents must again prove to themselves and their...

WASHINGTON -- President George W. Bush sweeps into the capital of the Slovak Republic Thursday for what may prove the most sensitive, difficult and strategically important meeting of his four-day diplomatic offensive in Europe. Behind him are talks meant to mend fences with leaders of NATO and EU states, some of whom were ardent opponents of the Iraq War. The president appears to have smoothed over or surmounted lingering rancor -- or at least reached an accommodation of sorts with them -- to allow increased cooperation on establishing democracy in Iraq and cooperating on Middle East peace efforts. But ahead...

London, England, Feb. 23 (UPI) -- Next month it will be 20 years exactly since Mikhail Gorbachev was elected general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union to inaugurate that extraordinary period of glasnost and perestroika that ended the Cold War, dismantled the Soviet empire and changed everything. Or did it? When President George W. Bush meets his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in the charming old Habsburg provincial city of Bratislava Thursday, the edgy nervousness that used to attend Cold War summits will hang heavy in the Central European air. Only two months ago, American and Russian "election...

German chancellor: No nukes for Iran BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (CNN) -- President Bush landed Wednesday in Slovakia for the final stop on his European tour, ahead of a summit Thursday with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Earlier Wednesday, Bush said he would raise concerns about the health of Russia's democracy when he meets with his counterpart. "I expressed some concerns at the European Union yesterday about some of the decisions, such as freedom of the press, that our mutual friend has made," he told reporters during a meeting in Germany with Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. "And I look forward to talking to him...

Am I the only Freeper in Bratislava this week?

MOSCOW — President Bush's summit with Vladimir Putin in Bratislava Thursday Feb. 24 will be the most difficult meeting two men ever had. A year after Mr. Putin handily won a second presidential term, his domestic and foreign challenges are snowballing, and his aura of an almost-superhuman invincibility is quickly dissipating. This is not to say Mr. Putin should be looked down upon or counted out: He is still in control. Meetings with key Russian officials in Moscow reveal that the Putin administration faces a crisis of confidence. Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov's Cabinet survived a Duma no-confidence vote Feb....

MUNICH, Germany (Reuters) -- Russia is fed up with being lectured by the West on democracy but is willing to discuss the issue frankly at a summit with the United States this month, Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said on Sunday. Eight days after U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Moscow must show its commitment to "the basics of democracy," Ivanov said Moscow was ready for an open exchange when presidents George W. Bush and Vladimir Putin meet. "We're ready to discuss any issues with the U.S. side, and not only to give answers but also ask questions," Ivanov told...