Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin seemingly emerged as the sensible voice in the conversation over Syria in the U.S. The ex-KGB agent turned President and billionaire made global headlines when he wrote a New York Times op-ed expressing his views on the end of American exceptionalism, the virtue of global diplomacy and the importance of human rights. Then, he seemed to strike diplomatic gold when his administration successfully proposed a preliminary plan to avert U.S. military action in Syria while ostensibly expelling all chemical weapons from the war-torn nation.
Quite a week for the thug of global leaders.
By capitalizing on a military-weary West, Putin put together a win-win situation for Assad and the U.S. While saving his ally from potentially devastating missile strikes, he allowed Obama and Kerry the political cover they needed to wave off both isolationist and neoconversative-aligned movements at home. Moreover, Putin efficiently restored his wounded global image.
Putin’s credible resurgence onto the global stage last week, while significant, was a short-lived stunt — a one-hit wonder. By positioning himself front and center in American politics, Putin fashioned himself a face that looks, well, very Western. This is obviously undermined by his innumerable supposed offenses on the West’s scorecard, including the Edward Snowden affair, wars in Georgia and Chechnya, assassinations of dissidents and journalists and the voter fraud supporting his regime.
Putin’s strength virtually always came from his ability to resist and bully. Now, he has legitimized the Western so-called moral method that the macho, often shirtless leader had previously rejected. The fact that the Russian premier feels the right to enforce political righteousness on the Western front means that he can now be expected to maintain the same level of principle when executing the brutish policy decisions in his own domain. With this expectation comes unprecedented diplomatic firepower for the West to promote democratic values in the Kremlin’s backyard. With the 2014 Winter Olympics coming up in Sochi, this effect may even multiply as the world eye turns to look at the problems of Putin’s so-called democratic nation.
Any chance of Russia becoming a sustainable global broker between the West and its adversaries is unfounded. Putin continues to build himself and his nation on skeletons — and everyone knows it. Worse, this latest move leaves Putin’s credibility vulnerable on the long term, global stage. Putin should enjoy his short-term gain but understand that when he resorts to bullying his many opponents, the world and his people will ask where Putin the Diplomat went.
Phillip Hayes is a contributing writer. Email him at [email protected].
