Bob Dole: “U.S. policy toward Russia is in disarray. The time of strategic partnership is over--if it ever began. President Yeltsin…”

“U.S. policy toward Russia is in disarray. The time of strategic partnership is over--if it ever began. President Yeltsin acts in increasingly erratic terms, the new parliament has freed antidemocratic coup-makers, the Russian military asserts itself throughout the territory of the former Soviet empire. The Russian foreign ministry is challenging American interests from Bosnia to the Middle East. The administration's reaction can only be characterized as denial. President Clinton equates Russian neo-imperialism with the liberation of Panama and Grenada, while the State Department defends, excuses, and even welcomes Russian actions from Georgia to Tajikistan to the Balkans. Meanwhile, our assistance program serves to enrich American consultants but is virtually invisible in the former Soviet Union. What we need is a fundamental reassessment of United States policy toward Russia. I hosted a breakfast meeting last week with outside experts, including two appointees from the Bush administration, a retired military officer who endorsed President Clinton, and an academic expert on Russia. There was unanimity that U.S. policy is headed in the wrong direction.”