[Aaus-list] Fred Hiatt in the WaPo - essentially a reply to Khrystia Freeland NY Times Op-Ed

[Max Pyziur]

On Mon, 10 Mar 2014, Marta Fedoriw wrote:

> Fred Hiatt: Will the West let Putin off the hook?
> washingtonpost.com
> 
> Copy and paste into your browser to read.....
> Excellent reply to Chrystia Freeland's notion that "Putin has already lost"......
> 
> 
Will the West let Putin off the hook?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/fred-hiatt-will-the-west-let-putin-off-the-hook/2014/03/06/e91718c0-a53c-11e3-a5fa-55f0c77bf39c_story.html

"...
But the long-term welfare of the Russian people is not Putin’s primary 
concern. Nor is recovering Russia’s greatness or restoring the Soviet 
empire, though he talks about those a lot and no doubt regards them as 
desirable.

Putin’s first goals are to stay in power, preserve access to Russia’s 
riches for himself and his inner circle and crush any democratic sprouts 
in Russia that might eventually force a reckoning for his misdeeds. He is 
an accidental leader, a former KGB agent whom Boris Yeltsin anointed as 
his protector in the feeble twilight of his presidency. Now, like a Mafia 
boss, he cannot contemplate retirement; it is rule or be ruled.

..."


MP