Vlad Says It Like It Is

Putin opened up a visit to Europe with a remark that made Chirol and Dr. Seuss very proud, calling them on their “traditional tendency” to appease aggressors.

Russia: Putin Says Europe Soft On Terrorists

Russian President Vladimir Putin today opened a state visit to the Netherlands, one of Russia’s most important trading partners and a senior member of the European Union. In remarks to journalists before his arrival, Putin accused Europeans of being soft on terrorism, with what he called a traditional tendency to appease. Do Putin’s comments have merit, or could he be seeking to deflect criticism of Russia’s human rights record in Chechnya?

The article goes on to try and pin down the political motivation for such bold comments by asserting that they were intended to deflect criticism from Russia’s Chechnyan adventures. Yet, despite whatever short term tactic the comment may or may not have been, Putin didn’t mince word. He called it like it is.

In a commonplace avoidance of reality, one response so far is:

“It takes time to come forward with a unified antiterrorism strategy, but this is the price for having our European Union functioning as it does; if you want to come forward with a common policy, then you need time. And this is something Putin does not like to see,” Leurdyk said.

Yet, if national policies don’t work, what does a common European policy have to do with anything? Policy formulation is not the answer. Dealing with the dangerous reality of terrorism is, and by that I mean not treating it as common crime. Perhaps the Germans and others could take a few lessons from the days of the RAF.