Not our friend

Putin is not our friend. Time and again, he takes anti-democratic stances. He's rolled back democratic advances in his own country; governers are no longer elected, they're appointed by the Kremlin. He's stuck his nose into the elections in the Ukrane and Belarus. Cover story on today's Post: Russia delivered to Iraq US troop movement data during the invasion. How is that the act of an ally? It's one thing to make diplomatic protestations; it's another thing entirely to subvert troops on the ground.

Putin is using his "friendship" with Bush for his advantage in crushing rebellious groups in his country; after the USSR fragmented, Russia is using all its strength to prevent further loss of territory. So in the immediate aftermath of the Beslan seige, Putin makes it look like radical Islam was involved. That way he can use Bush's anti-terrorism rhetoric to justify brutal repression. Lessons from Chechnya are then taken to Georgia.

What Putin will not do, though, is acknowledge the democratic motives that Bush has. Putin is all about his own power. Why hasn't our foreign policy shown signs of reacting?