Importance of Bilateral Diplomacy - Essay Example

?World Politics Journal Entry Issue: Bilateral Diplomacy. The aftermath of September 11, 2001, left a very indelible mark in the United s. When the former President George W. Bush declared that the United States would wage a global war campaign against terrorism, he knew that the United States alone cannot effectively engage such a fight alone. While most of the Western world and allies of the United States agreed and pledged their support, the administration of President Bush knew it may not be enough still to fight terrorism in the global scale. Enter the complicated relations between the United States and the Russian Federation. Despite years have passed since the Cold War ended, the hidden ambivalence and suspicions between the two world powers remain. The Russian conflict in Chechnya has been denounced vocally by the US, while its president, former KGB officer Vladimir Putin, has been viewed with suspicion due to his hard-hand methods. However, the world being under the threat of global terrorism, the United States would be willing to overlook those matters for much more pressing concerns. Given Russia's cooperation so far in the U.S. war in Afghanistan, including its sharing intelligence about al-Qaeda and the Taliban, Bush is apt to comply (James Carney, Our New Best Friend, time.com). Russian support to the American global war against terrorism would be looked with both the Russians and the Americans looking at the advantages of such agreements. The Americans gain better assets in their campaign while the Russians gain better favor and image in the eyes of the Western world. Source cited Carney, J. “Our New Best Friend?” Time Magazine. 12 Nov 2012. Web. 27 May 2002. World Politics Journal Entry 2 Issue: Military Intervention In the year 2008, the Georgian-South Ossetian War broke-out with Georgian forces breaking through the South Ossetian border while the two regions exchanged fierce artillery firing. The involvement of Russia in this conflict caught the world’s attention more closely. For one, South Ossetia is considered to be one of the sub-republics of the Russian Federation. Any attack on a territory under the Russian Federation would lead to a very forceful reprisal. This, unfortunately, happened to the Georgians who faced a terrific defeat by Russian forces. A year afterwards, ready, and waiting. Georgia and Russia have traded increasingly belligerent accusations against the other as the anniversary of last year's five-day war has approached in recent weeks; these soldiers, sent by Moscow to guard the breakaway republic of South Ossetia, are on the front line of that war of words (John Wendle, A Year After War, S.Ossetia More Dependent on Russia, time.com). As the region of South Ossetia still reels and remembers from the attack made by the Georgians, it is only logical for South Ossetia to look on to Russia for aid. The Russians also see this as a matter and opportunity that they cannot let slide. It has been the goal of Russian leader Vladimir Putin, and also noticed by the rest of the world powers, to expand Russian influence towards the territories it once held during the Cold War. This could be seen as Russia’s attempt to restore its Cold War era status as a superpower in par with its Western rivals such as the United States. Source Cited Wendle, J. “A Year After War, S.Ossetia More Dependent on Russia”. Time Magazine. 12 Nov 2012. Web. 10 Aug 2009. World Politics Journal 3 Issue: Military Rearmament During the Cold War, the United States considered the former Soviet Russia as such a powerful force to reckon with that it led to a full-scale arms race. By the end of the Cold War, however, Russia lost due to not having the sufficient economy to support its staggering military expenditure. It did not help either that the first administration of the Russian Federation under the late President Boris Yeltsin was rampant with corruption and inflation. The Russian military at this time was at a point of slow decline. Come the term of the new Russian leader Vladimir Putin, the Russian military started to be tweaked and reformed. At the same time, Russia has other uses for its military industries besides defensive purposes. Russia's strategy is twofold. It wants to use the huge profits it makes selling arms around the world as a platform on which to relaunch its own defense forces. But the arms sales are not only about money. Moscow hopes that as Venezuela and other countries grow more dependent on Russian weapons, political and economic ties will also grow, increasing Russia's global heft (Vivienne Walt, Russia Rearms, time.com) Russia can be said to use its growing weapons industry as a trump card in international relations with other countries, while at the same time expanding its own potential military capabilities to return to its place as a world leading superpower alongside the United States of America. Source Cited Walt, V. “Russia Rearms”. Time Magazine. 12 Nov 2012. Web. 27 April 2009 World Politics Journal Entry 4 Issue: Global Terrorism It is considered to be the worst terrorist attack in American history. The crashing of two passenger airlines in the World Trade Center in September 11, 2001 shocked both the United States and the world. This does even take into account the other passenger aircraft flights that crashed in the Pentagon and another in an open farmland. This shifted the tone and rhetoric of international relations after such an event. Global terrorism was a clear and present danger, and it had the face of Osama Bin Laden and the Al-Qaeda group as the world’s most notorious threats. What makes Al Qaeda dangerous as a movement of global terrorism is that it takes advantages of the movement of globalization: For the past decade, globalization has been understood as an economic process, rooted in the trade of goods and services… Cheap air transport, the effects of decolonization and a population explosion in the poorer parts of the world have combined to create an unprecedented movement of humanity from one nation to another… But they have also helped create havens for those seduced by the romance of terrorism. (Michael Elliot, Hate Club: Al-Qaeda’s Web of Terror, time.com). Al Qaeda gives global terrorism a new edge in its war by learning how to move in and out nations while blending within a nation’s society. For as long as the security measures of a nation is lax, and the social atmosphere is conducive, global terrorism through groups like Al Qaeda would have little difficulty in committing acts of terror on their intended objectives. Source Cited Elliot, M. “Hate Club: Al-Qaeda’s Web of Terror.” Time Magazine. 12 Nov 2012. Web. 4 Nov 2001 Read More