Commenting on National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice's recent testimony to the Sept. 11 panel, the Russian expert noted that "the Bush Administration thinks in conventional geopolitical categories." According to Rogov, the U.S. President came very close to designating China as the nation's No. 1 adversary, but had to modify his original plan after the September 11 attacks on Washington and New York.
Speaking of the latest upsurge of violence in Iraq, Rogov offered several options for restoring stability to that country, including the policy of suppression/appeasement of the Iraqi population, using Israeli Premier Ariel Sharon's experience as a model, and the transfer of control over Iraq to the United Nations. This [latter] option is preferable as Iraq must not be deserted, he emphasized, adding that if the soil under the American soldiers' feet gets too hot, Bush might decide on the pullout.
According to Rogov, the United States pursues a policy of double standards vis-a-vis the rest of the world, Russia included. "No one else is permitted to do what the U.S. declares as admissible for itself," he said.
In the past eighteen months alone, the Bush Administration has asked the Congress for an additional $160 billion for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. This money would have been better spent if it had gone to fight poverty and other social root-causes of terrorism, Rogov argues. In his view, the U.S. is fighting symptoms of the disease, and not its cause.
