US and Russia: damage wreaked by the arrogance of power
Six years ago, at their first meeting in Ljubljana, Slovenia, Bush looked into Putin’s eyes and somehow spotted the soul of a Christian gentleman, not that of a secret policeman. Next week, they shouldn’t be surprised if they see a mirror of each other, because both men have exemplified the arrogance of power.
Bush and Putin both came to power in 2000, a year when their countries were scrambling to regain international respect — Russia from the chaos of the Yeltsin years and the United States from the failed impeachment of President Clinton. Each country thought it was getting an unthreatening mediocrity. But both men, on finding themselves in positions of authority, ruled from their default positions: Bush as an evangelical convinced that God was on America’s side, and Putin as a KGB graduate convinced that all power comes from intimidation and threats.
