Speaking of Vladimir Putin Hillary says "hard men represent hard
choices" and goes on to provide her analysis of him and how who he is
informs his particular choices. She says he views geopolitics as a
zero-sum game where if someone is winning someone else has to be losing.
Her
recommended strategy for managing a relationship with the Russians:
work with them on specific issues; rally other nations to work with us
against negative behavior as needed.
She betrays a clear
preference for the vision Yeltsin had for Russia and mentions this
moment when he turned back the forces of an old soviet-era coup.
We
know Yeltsin kept a photo of her in his office. There was mutual
admiration, clearly. For the heck of it I also share these. They
always make me smile.
We will never see anything like that from Putin.
Calling
Russia the fourth most dangerous place in the world to be a journalist,
she refers to this meeting with civil leaders where she spoke of press
freedom and human rights.
October 14, 2009 by
still4hill
She also gave this daring radio interview on this trip and spoke of human rights.
October 15, 2009 by
still4hill
It
was during the 2008 primaries here in the U.S. that term limits forced
Putin to relinquish the presidency to Dmitry Medvedev whom Hillary found
surprisingly conciliatory.
The approach, therefore, that
was THE reset, was three-pronged:
- cooperation on aligned interests,
- firmness where interests diverged,
- engagement with the people.
She attributes the use of the term
reset
to Joe Biden who used it first. As she looks back at her first
official meeting with Lavrov, we get a glimpse of the value she places
on the use of humor in diplomacy. Even funnier, in the book she relates
how Philippe Reines tried to get the button back to correct the label,
prevailed upon the Russian ambassador to Switzerland who said he would
have to ask the minister, and Philippe said that his minister was going
to send him to Siberia if he didn't get it back. Hillary said she was
tempted.
March 7, 2009 by
still4hill
The
next month the two new presidents would meet. It was a watershed moment
- a very productive meeting. Medvedev acknowledged that the U.S. was
probably right about Iran nuclear intentions and the two decided that it
was time to revisit the nuclear treaty our two countries share. START
had expired, and nothing had been done to revise and renew it. Hillary
and Sergei Lavrov were about to be assigned what might have been their
most important mission: a New START. They, and their respective
squadrons, would prove to be a close and impressive team.
A year later, she and Secretary Gates introduced the New START Treaty.
March 27, 2010 by
still4hill
The presidential signing took place in Prague in April 2010.
Immediately
afterwards Hillary went on the offensive to get the treaty ratified.
In the book, Hillary manages to reduce the battle for ratification to
about a page. In real life, it took a year for the teams to hammer out
the treaty (not bad considering the massive assignment) and then it took
all of this to get it ratified.
Her allies on The Hill were Vice
President Joe Biden, Harry Reid, John Kerry, and Richard Lugar. Her
companion in the trenches was Robert Gates.
April 9, 2010 by
still4hill
April 9, 2010 by
still4hill
Yes, it was and is
that McConnell Center (a very smart move). She also published an international op-ed.
April 9, 2010 by
still4hill
May 18, 2010 by
still4hill
June 17, 2010 by
still4hill
July 14, 2010 by
still4hill
August 11, 2010 by
still4hill
Always keep smiling, even when the struggle is hard!
September 16, 2010 by
still4hill
When possible, wear pink. It weakens resistance.
November 3, 2010 by
still4hill
But,
as Hillary remarks, after the 2010 mid-term elections it appeared that
ratification was going to be a tough battle. Many Tea Party candidates
had been elected to Congress and some seats had been lost in the Senate.
There was pressure from the far right that threatened to get in the
way.
This is just me, not Hillary, but her analysis of Putin and
what drives him could also apply to some Tea Party folks who believe in a
zero-sum game and think our glory days lie in a past century. One way
Putin is more advanced than they is that he is less insular. He intends
to organize with his Pacific neighbors.
I do not believe New START would have been on the agenda, however, if he and not Medvedev were president.
November 17, 2010 by
still4hill
November 18, 2010 by
still4hill
Finally,
right before Christmas, as if a gift, ratification! It was a present -
from Hillary and Sergei Lavrov to the world. Thank you both and your
industrious teams!
December 22, 2010 by
still4hill
December 22, 2010 by
still4hill
The
instruments of ratification were exchanged in February 2011. Hillary
was so happy that they finally had gotten this done that she remarked
that she was having trouble signing her own name - a problem we have not
seen on the book promotion trail.
February 5, 2011 by
still4hill
If
anyone tries to tell you she accomplished nothing or that the reset did
not work, show them this page. She worked very hard to get this
treaty and to get it ratified. We are lucky. This protects us all.
But
as 2011 began with this extraordinary bi-national victory, the tone
shifted with the year drawing to a close. As Hillary recounts, Russian
parliamentary elections in December were marred by fraud reports, and
Putin announced his intention to run for the presidency again.
Hillary
expressed concern about these reports, and when folks in Russia hit the
streets to demonstrate their disapproval, Putin blamed her for the
unrest.
At this OSCE conference Hillary quotes herself.
December 6, 2011 by
still4hill
The
Russian people, like people everywhere, deserve the right to have their
voices heard and their votes counted. And that means they deserve fair,
free, transparent elections and leaders who are accountable to them.
Although
she argued to Putin that it was unlikely that people woke up and went
into the streets because they thought she wanted them to, she does not
completely reject the idea that she might have inspired some courage to
protest.
As Putin retrieved the presidency and rejected an
invitation to the G-8 at Camp David, she warned President Obama that
Putin's "regional integration" was code for rebuilding the empire of the
past.
The reset, she tells us was what you think it was. It
delivered or disappointed according to your expectations. A Rorschach
test of sorts. It was meant, she states, as a recognition, not as a
reward.
To illustrate the complexities of the reset she provides
the example of supply routes to Afghanistan. As we saw in the Pakistan
chapter, one of these was over land. But we also leased former Soviet
air bases in both Kyrgystan and Uzbekistan for air transport.
Given
the world-view Hillary assigns to Putin, it is not hard to see why he
might perceive our presence on former Soviet military bases as a
threat. That, indeed, is what he warned the Kyrgys and Uzbeks of - a
permanent U.S. presence on these bases (that we were
leasing).
A
long, but necessary land route for supplies crosses Russia, Kazakhstan,
and Uzbekistan by rail. The complex came to be known as the Northern
Distribution Network and was crucial to the Afghanistan surge. Medvedev
signed off on our use of Russian rails for this purpose in 2009 (for a
price). The movement of lethal cargo across former Soviet land provided
an opportunity for Russia to exert some muscle.
When Hillary visited Kazakhstan, Kyrgystan, and Uzbekistan in 2010, she was asked where they stood in the reset.
QUESTION: Where does Kyrgyzstan come in in your reset with Russia?
SECRETARY CLINTON:
Well, Russia and the United States, we think, have to work hard to
overcome a legacy of mistrust, and try to chart a new course. So when
the Obama Administration came in, President Obama and I said we’re going
to try to reset relations with Russia. That doesn’t mean we will always
agree, because we will not. But it does mean, where we can agree, we
should. And we should try to make the world safer and more secure, fewer
conflicts, fewer problems.
... But what’s important for us, for
the United States, is that Kyrgyzstan be left alone to make its own
decisions about what is best for Kyrgyzstan, and that no country
interfere with or undermine the legitimate aspirations of the people of
Kyrgyzstan to have a democracy that will fulfill the aspirations of you,
and no one else. That is our hope.
QUESTION: And is there any rivalry going on between Russia and the U.S., I mean, in the region, particularly in Kyrgyzstan?
Secretary Clinton:...
I think it’s important for you to have relations with many, but not be
dependent on any. Try to balance off all the different relations you
have, and get the best help you can from other countries that wish to
participate with you.
The entire transcript is here.
December 2, 2010 by
still4hill
Strategy
to counter Putin's neo-colonial agenda included helping Europe,
eastern Europe in particular, secure alternative sources of fuel and
energy and reduce dependence on Gazprom since Russia could shut down
those supply lines at will.
With Cathy Ashton she initiated the
U.S. - E.U. Energy Council. Although, as she says, these efforts did
not make headlines here at home, they forced Gazprom to compete and
influenced Ukraine's desire for closer ties to Europe (and freedom from
Gazprom) which, in turn, relaxed Putin's grip on the former Soviet state
and emboldened Ukrainians to stand firm in their intent to join with
Europe.
November 19, 2010 by
still4hill
As
she brings this Russian chapter to a close she shares some personal
insights and moments with Putin, including the invitation for
Bill Clinton to tag polar bears with him.
Another involves her attendance at APEC in Vladivostok in September 2012.
September 8, 2012 by
still4hill
She
mentions that President Obama could not attend because of his campaign
schedule here at home. Both Putin and Lavrov resented 1) that
President Obama was not there and 2) remarks she had made about Russia's
support for Bashar Al-Assad and therefore resisted a meeting with her.
Protocol dictated that the former APEC host (U.S.) be seated beside the
current host at the ceremonial dinner. As the president's
representative, the U.S. CEO was Hillary and she was seated beside Putin
at the dinner. Not only did they socialize and talk issues and
strategy, but Putin shared a story about his parents that no one had
ever heard.
She does not mention, so I shall, that at this APEC
Summit she signed a Memorandum of Understanding between the Government
of the United States of America and the Government of the Russian
Federation on Cooperation in the Antarctic and a Joint Statement on
Strengthening U.S.-Russian Inter-Regional Cooperation with Sergei
Lavrov. So the reset continued to succeed.
September 8, 2012 by
still4hill
Prior
to leaving the department she sent President Obama an analysis of
relations with Putin's Russia and some recommendations that some thought
extreme at the time. More recent events have shown her assessment to
be on target.
As was the case with some previous chapters, the
final paragraphs seem directed to Putin and the Russian people more than
to us. It is excellent advice and they all should attend to it.
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
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She
does not mention this, so I shall even though it is off-topic. The
APEC summit in Vladivostok came at the end of this trip for which she
cut short an already brief vacation.
August 28, 2012 by
still4hill
She
had been away and working non-stop for eleven days. There are no
"weekends" for a traveling secretary of state. It was eleven solid days
packed with work. She had been in six countries. She was in
Vladivostok through the September 9, flew home and was at the State
Department for a 9:15 meeting on September 10.
September 10, 2012 by
still4hill
Take
note of the date. She came home to more than a dozen embassies and
consulates under siege and was at her office late the next evening as
tragic events unfolded.
To those who question where she was and
what she was doing, I can answer that she was working as she had been
for two solid weeks with no break. I would also ask them when the last
time was that they worked through two weeks straight for the long hours
that she worked without a day off. To imply or assert that Hillary
Clinton ever shirked any aspect of her duty as secretary of state,
especially with our embassies and consulates in danger, is a
reprehensible assault on a dedicated public servant - particularly when
the agenda is purely political.
As I said, it is off-topic, parenthetical, and it is just me.
**********************************************************************************
Jim Watson / Pool via Reuters, file
