As Bill Clinton once told former deputy secretary of state Strobe Talbott in an outburst of honesty when Clinton was president and Boris Yeltsin was his counterpart in the Kremlin,
We [US] haven't played everything brilliantly with these people [Russians]; we haven't figured out how to say yes to them in a way that balances off how much and how often we want them to say yes to us. We keep telling Ol' Boris, 'Okay, now here's what you've got to do next - here's some more **** for your face.'
Today, the Obama administration needs to factor in that Bill Clinton's Russia team still remains largely intact in the Washington circuit even after Ol' Boris left the Kremlin 12 years and six months ago. Put differently, Russia won't take "more ****" in its face anymore.
If the Obama administration is in any doubt, this week's unprecedented military exercise by the Russian armed forces in the Far East should help dispel that misconception.
Russia has no enemies in the Far East. Nor does Russia have to prepare against the likelihood of a war with Japan, China or North Korea. Nor are its famous strategic bombers Tu-95MS going to be called upon to perform real time tasks.
The real message is that the military exercises ending on Saturday, involving 160,000 servicemen, 5,000 tanks and combat armored vehicles, 160 warplanes and helicopters of long-range, military transport, fighter, bombing and army aviation, as well as 70 warships and vessels, were ordered by the Kremlin with a paltry 48 hours' notice and yet they took off and could take place with such finesse.
President Vladimir Putin's presence at the 247th multi-service firing range Tsugol in the Eastern Military District on Wednesday underscores that Ol' Boris has become a part of history - and so indeed the US' post-Soviet triumphalism.
In sum, the charade of the US-Russia "reset" which Obama conjured up during his first term has outlived its utility.Selective engagement of Russia will no longer do. Russia demands a comprehensive, equal partnership based on mutual respect.
The Snowden case testifies to the urgency for Washington to go back to the drawing board and work on a new blueprint of relations with Russia - similar to the NTR China has been demanding.
