Looks like Russia is enjoying the U.S.’s foreign policy issues and loss of “soft power” to assert its own global hegemony. From an A.P. article on Sunday, Sept. 28th:
Russia has called for a revival of the global anti-terrorism coalition that formed after Sept. 11, 2001, but that started to unravel with what it called the subsequent domination by a single power – a veiled reference to the United States.
“The solidarity of the international community fostered on the wave of struggle against terrorism turned out to be somehow ‘privatized,”‘ Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov of Russia said Saturday at the UN General Assembly annual ministerial meeting.
Lavrov cited the U.S. invasion of Iraq “under the false pretext of fight on terror and nuclear arms proliferation” and the issue of the excessive use of force against civilians in counterterrorism operations in Afghanistan.
Ostensibly, Russia’s solution to the U.S.’ domineering is to reinvigorate cooperative international organization, like the U.N., but it’s hard to imagine that this is actually Russia’s goal.
Certain vice presidential interviews aside, Russia really is rearing its head. Kremlin officials attempted to play off the recent U.N. resolution against Iran as both a victory for international cooperation and a successful rebuttal of sanctions proposed by Western powers. And then there’s the recent news that Russia plans on strengthening its military by building a new fleet of nuclear subs, redoubling missile defense efforts, and increasing soldiers’ compensation.
Of course, none of this should come as a great surprise, but it does show once again that Russia’s ambitions are growing, while the U.S.’ domestic and foreign problems leave it awkwardly positioned to press back. The next president will have limited diplomatic resources and a huge task in reigning in an emerging hegemon.
