The Two Viktors

"Democracy" these days can wear many hats. The administration appears to be bent on "spreading democracy" everywhere in the world with the exception of the U.S., where democracy has taken a big hit. Of course, wars of economic and political imperialism need lofty justifications, and democracy is right up there. We have become used to hearing "democracy" come out of administration mouths sounding like "domination."

Given the janus-faced nature of all this democracy talk, many on those who really do support democracy were stunned by a sudden and hearty agreement with the administration regarding the voter fraud controversy in the Ukraine. Suddenly everyone was united. We could finally "heal," in the words of John Kerry's capitulation. This was shocking. Yes, there are some people in the U.S. who remember a certain stolen election (or two) like they remember 9/11. The real question is, why does this administration care? Two reasons.

1. Time for the administration to cash in on some more "tear down this wall" rhetoric - and a very public chance to prove that all this democracy talk is legit.

2. Putin's Russia - what is left of it - is still a significant economic and military threat. It has become more and more hostile in the last decade, especially in the lead up to the recent Iraq invasion (oil changing hands). Russia has got the second largest military at $60 billion (compared to U.S. $420 billion). The U.S. would like to remain the world's only superpower, and it will pursue divide-and-conquer techniques to achieve this. This is why it is essential that the Ukraine, the largest of the former provinces, not become a Russian client state. The European Union and the humbling strength of the euro is bad enough.