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"One Cold War was quite enough"
What do we do without Serb? 
Lots of bluster from Putin this weekend in Munich. Putin's getting his knickers in a twist because of NATO expansion and the missile defense shield being deployed in Central/Eastern Europe.
I'm looking for a transcript of the speech, but can't find it. The article from the FT below gives some morsels. Gates and Schwarzenberg showed some wit, but perhaps a day late.
Lots of bluster from Putin this weekend in Munich. Putin's getting his knickers in a twist because of NATO expansion and the missile defense shield being deployed in Central/Eastern Europe.
I'm looking for a transcript of the speech, but can't find it. The article from the FT below gives some morsels. Gates and Schwarzenberg showed some wit, but perhaps a day late.
Gates brushes aside Putin’s anti-US tirade
By Demetri Sevastopulo and Stephen Fidler in Munich
Published: February 11 2007 13:06 | Last updated: February 11 2007 20:17
Robert Gates, the US defence secretary, on Sunday brushed aside a blistering attack on US foreign policy by Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, saying that “one cold war was quite enough”.
Mr Putin lambasted US foreign policy in a theatrical display at a high-profile Munich security conference on Saturday, saying “illegal” unilateral military action had plunged the world into an “abyss of permanent conflicts”.
In his first major international speech since succeeding Donald Rumsfeld in December, Mr Gates avoided upping the ante with the former KGB officer by laughing off his polemic.
“As an old cold warrior, one of yesterday’s speeches almost filled me with nostalgia for a less complex time,” said Mr Gates. “Almost.”
The former head of the Central Intelligence Agency continued: “I guess, old spies have a habit of blunt speaking. However, I have been to re-education camp, spending four and-[a]-half years as a university president and dealing with faculty. And, as more than a few university presidents have learned in recent years, when it comes to faculty it is either ‘be nice’ or ‘be gone’.”
Mr Gates, who said he had accepted an offer from Mr Putin to visit Russia, dismissed suggestions of a new cold war. But he did register US displeasure with Russian foreign policy, including its use of energy resources for “political coercion”.
Mr Putin had also accused Washington of sparking a new arms race with its missile defence system, and criticised the expansion of Nato to include former members of the Soviet Union.
Mr Putin’s speech at the normally august conference drew surprise and criticism. Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, Nato’s secretary-general, expressed disappointment that the Russian president had made such a “remarkable” speech at such a venue.
US senator Lindsey Graham half-joked that Mr Putin had done “more in a single speech to unite Europe and America than anything we could have done in a decade”, while Senator John McCain said the speech included the “most aggressive remarks by a Russian leader since the end of the cold war”.
But Karel Schwarzenberg, the Czech Republic foreign minister, drew loud applause – and a smile on the face of Russian defence minister Sergei Ivanov – by thanking Mr Putin for bringing attention to the normally sleepier conference. In a more serious vein, however, he said the Russian president had “clearly and convincingly” shown why Nato should be enlarged.
Mr Ivanov agreed on Sunday that a new cold war was not imminent. He said Russia was spending just 2.6 per cent of GDP on defence. “We are not spending on defence what the Soviet Union did – which was 30 per cent. Three per cent: feel the difference,” he said.
Speaking to an audience that included defence ministers from many Nato countries, Mr Gates also stressed the importance of resolve in Afghanistan, saying the alliance needed to ensure the “offensive in Afghanistan this spring will be our offensive”.
In comments intended to up the pressure on European allies, Mr Gates said it would be a “mark of shame” if Nato let its successes in Afghanistan “slip away through neglect of lack of political will or resolve”.
Responding to Kenneth Roth, the director of Human Rights Watch, Mr Gates conceded that the US detention facility at Guantanamo Bay and prisoner abuses in Iraq had damaged the reputation of the US. He added that the military tribunals to try the prisoners would be “transparent”, with full media access.
By Demetri Sevastopulo and Stephen Fidler in Munich
Published: February 11 2007 13:06 | Last updated: February 11 2007 20:17
Robert Gates, the US defence secretary, on Sunday brushed aside a blistering attack on US foreign policy by Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, saying that “one cold war was quite enough”.
Mr Putin lambasted US foreign policy in a theatrical display at a high-profile Munich security conference on Saturday, saying “illegal” unilateral military action had plunged the world into an “abyss of permanent conflicts”.
In his first major international speech since succeeding Donald Rumsfeld in December, Mr Gates avoided upping the ante with the former KGB officer by laughing off his polemic.
“As an old cold warrior, one of yesterday’s speeches almost filled me with nostalgia for a less complex time,” said Mr Gates. “Almost.”
The former head of the Central Intelligence Agency continued: “I guess, old spies have a habit of blunt speaking. However, I have been to re-education camp, spending four and-[a]-half years as a university president and dealing with faculty. And, as more than a few university presidents have learned in recent years, when it comes to faculty it is either ‘be nice’ or ‘be gone’.”
Mr Gates, who said he had accepted an offer from Mr Putin to visit Russia, dismissed suggestions of a new cold war. But he did register US displeasure with Russian foreign policy, including its use of energy resources for “political coercion”.
Mr Putin had also accused Washington of sparking a new arms race with its missile defence system, and criticised the expansion of Nato to include former members of the Soviet Union.
Mr Putin’s speech at the normally august conference drew surprise and criticism. Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, Nato’s secretary-general, expressed disappointment that the Russian president had made such a “remarkable” speech at such a venue.
US senator Lindsey Graham half-joked that Mr Putin had done “more in a single speech to unite Europe and America than anything we could have done in a decade”, while Senator John McCain said the speech included the “most aggressive remarks by a Russian leader since the end of the cold war”.
But Karel Schwarzenberg, the Czech Republic foreign minister, drew loud applause – and a smile on the face of Russian defence minister Sergei Ivanov – by thanking Mr Putin for bringing attention to the normally sleepier conference. In a more serious vein, however, he said the Russian president had “clearly and convincingly” shown why Nato should be enlarged.
Mr Ivanov agreed on Sunday that a new cold war was not imminent. He said Russia was spending just 2.6 per cent of GDP on defence. “We are not spending on defence what the Soviet Union did – which was 30 per cent. Three per cent: feel the difference,” he said.
Speaking to an audience that included defence ministers from many Nato countries, Mr Gates also stressed the importance of resolve in Afghanistan, saying the alliance needed to ensure the “offensive in Afghanistan this spring will be our offensive”.
In comments intended to up the pressure on European allies, Mr Gates said it would be a “mark of shame” if Nato let its successes in Afghanistan “slip away through neglect of lack of political will or resolve”.
Responding to Kenneth Roth, the director of Human Rights Watch, Mr Gates conceded that the US detention facility at Guantanamo Bay and prisoner abuses in Iraq had damaged the reputation of the US. He added that the military tribunals to try the prisoners would be “transparent”, with full media access.
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