Mr Bush described their meeting as straightforward and effective.
He said it was time to move beyond Cold War attitudes, away from mutually assured destruction towards mutually earned respect.
“I looked the man in the eye. I found him to be very straight forward and trustworthy and we had a very good dialogue.
“I was able to get a sense of his soul.
“He’s a man deeply committed to his country and the best interests of his country and I appreciate very much the frank dialogue and that’s the beginning of a very constructive relationship,” Mr Bush said.
—BBC News, Saturday, 16 June, 2001
Well, Bush was right. It was time to end the Cold War, cooperate against the threats represented by Islam and China, and develop good trade relationships.
Unfortunately, Putin didn’t see it that way. Contrary to Bush’s impression, he is not deeply committed to the good of his country, but rather to power and self enrichment.
If he continues this way, he will bring Russia down, but not without doing a lot of damage to others first.
If only Agatha Christie was still around, she’d write her next mega-best-seller “Death from the Kremlin”.
I don’t know what the operating practices of these guys were, but if you’re going to dance with a guy like Putin you’d better be willing to kill alot of people and brutally at that.
Everyone knows it...
BTTT
Boris Berezovsky makes Bill Clinton look like Abe Lincoln.