July 10, 2007 (the date of publication in Russian)
Valery Zufman
DISARMAMENT OF PROPAGANDA
The United States confess of not perceiving Iranian threat to Europe as serious
Recently, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice declared that the United States does not accept Russia's proposal of joint ABM deployment on the base of the Gabala radar station in Azerbaijan, or in Russia's Armavir. "The Russians have introduced a number of proposals of their own", she said. "We disagree with them. We still believe we have to proceed with Czechia and Poland".
Thus, the effort to prevent deployment of US anti-ballistic facilities in Eastern Europe has expectably failed. Still, Moscow has obtained a valuable propagandist, diplomatic and ideological result.
Washington had been persistent in assuring Europeans that new US strategic missile deployments in Poland and Czechia were not destined to target Russia. The European audience was supposed to be very grateful to the State Department and Pentagon for protection from the "rogue" Iran, reportedly guaranteed to Europe by the new ABM systems. Today, however, Mrs. Rice is performing a most illustrative seance of exposure of her own informational magic. The promptitude of Washington's response to Vladimir Putin's initiatives has demonstrated – primarily to Europeans – that the United States does not regard the threat of Iran's nuclear assault on the Old World as serious.
As a matter of fact, new ABM facilities, ostensibly destined for protection of Europe, can't be completed before 2011. But if the Iranian threat is real, relevant deployments are necessary right today. What if Tehran decides to attack Europe in 2008, the year of presidential elections in the United States, or maybe, in 2009 or 2010? In case such suspicions are serious, Washington would hurry to accept Russia's proposals.
Refusing to implement a joint ABM program with the Russian Federation, the United States has indirectly confirmed that it does not expect Iran's assault on Europe – or does not much care for this possibility. At the same time, with this reluctance to cooperate with Russia on the territory adjacent to Iran, where "rogue" missiles could be intercepted more efficiently, Washington indirectly confirms that the planned ABM deployment in Eastern Europe is nothing but an element of infrastructure of a possible nuclear war against Russia.
What does the outcome of the ABM discussion reveal? Have Russians learnt anything new about US aggressive plans and insidious intentions? Unfortunately, we did not have any illusions on this subject earlier as well. The negative answer from Washington was not surprising for us: we did not doubt that new radars and missiles (designed allegedly only for interception) are directed against Moscow. Neither did we attempt to appeal to the conscience of George W. Bush's Administration: politicians who had unleashed a bloody warfare in Iraq under the pretext of Saddam Hussein' possession of WMD – despite awareness of their non-existence – could hardly be suspected of possessing high ethical principles.
Still, Russia has achieved a real advantage on the level of European public opinion. Two weeks ago, we already mentioned that after Vladimir Putin delivered his alternative proposals at the G8 summit in Heiligendamm, leading German politicians openly admitted that deployment of US ABM facilities on the territory of new NATO member countries is not expedient. In its turn, the Czech parliament launched a national referendum on the subject of "the American radar".
Now, "ultra-Atlanticist" politicians in the ruling circles of Czechia and Poland will face more difficulties in attempts to tell their peoples why they are going to become hostages of Pentagon's nuclear ambitions. This highly probable public debate in the two East European countries could serve as the first precondition for a change in Prague's, and later possibly in Warsaw's foreign policy.
Russia's reasonable and constructive initiatives comprised a convincing alternative to adventurous plans of Polish and Czech neo-Atlanticists. Refusing to accept Moscow's proposals, Washington has actually disarmed itself in propagandist warfare. In near future, the United States may bitterly regret of this choice.
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