Political Quotes

“I will begin with the current event of one of the more interesting aspects of life in Moscow at this moment, which is that it is in so many ways much more open than the United States. Their archives are open, and their national security plans are open. I do not doubt there are closed elements as well. But on December 17, the Russian Federation issued Presidential edict, No. 1300, entitled ``The Russian National Security Blueprint.'' This is the kind of document that we would not have gotten from Moscow in the past. We can think of the famous NSC-68, which was drafted early in 1950 and was so powerfully influential in our affairs for many years. NSC-68 remained secret for 30 years. By contrast, the Presidential edict, No. 1300, was published in Moscow's official gazette on December 26, 9 days after it was issued. It is a disturbing document; yet, in many ways it is an admirable one in the clarity with which it sets forth the exceptional difficulties facing the Russian Federation at this point.”