Until now Russia has been on the sideline niether helping nor hindering the US in the war on terror. Putin has given wordsof support, but has also given words of warning against some of our actions.
This week the Chechnyans and thier Arab buddies have changed all that. Russia now knows what we went through on Sept 11 and what we felt. We here in the US feel Russia's pain at this time more than any other country can, because we have been there. We know what Russia is going through, qand they now know first hand what we went through as a nation.
It may not be today, tomorrow, or even next week -- but soon Russia will join with the United States in the War on Terror, and when that happens woe be on to those nations who oppose us and harbor Terrorists.
Just as President Bush gave words of warning against some of Putin's actions:
JIM LEHRER: On Chechnya and Russia, the U.S. and the rest of the western world has been raising Cain with Russia from the beginning, saying 'You are killing innocent civilians.' The Russians have said essentially 'We're fighting terrorism, and, by the way, mind your own business.' What else -- what else, if anything, could be done by the United States?
GOV. GEORGE W. BUSH: Well, we could cut off IMF (International Monetary Fund) aid and export/import loans to Russia until they heard the message loud and clear, and we should do that. It's going to be a very interesting issue to see how Russia merges, Jim. This guy, Putin, who is now the temporary president, has come to power as a result of Chechnya. He kind of rode the great wave of popularity as the Russian military looked like they were gaining strength in kind of handling the Chechnya situation in a way that's not acceptable to peaceful nations.
The Germans and French???