The Other Obama

Will Russia ' s Medvedev Deliver?
"The Medvedev Doctrine," by Owen Matthews and Anna Nemtsova (Dec. 1), tries to make us believe that the Russian president's principal policy initiatives will fall victim to the global economic crisis. I beg to differ. Of course, Russia is hurting like almost every other country, but in general, Dmitry Medvedev (and his predecessor, Vladimir Putin) has clearer and better-defined strategies for the West than either Washington or Brussels has for Russia. Economically, Russia will pull through the present financial crisis, mainly because it doesn't shy away from strong government controls and central planning. Geopolitically, Russia in 2008 is much stronger than it was when the Soviet Union collapsed, and there is every reason to take its occasional threats seriously—especially on the perceived "regional spheres of influence." The Shanghai Cooperation Organization may never become a solid bloc like the old Soviet-led Warsaw Pact, but one would underestimate it only at one's peril. Medvedev has already demonstrated that he can act independently of his mentor, Putin, and he and his politics should be taken seriously. America's President-elect Barack Obama should not underestimate his Russian counterpart.
Karl H. Pagac
Villeneuve-Loubet, France

Does the new President of Russia have plans to improve the global image of his country as a great economic and political power? Much as Peter the Great attempted a few centuries ago, the new Tsar Medvedev wants to turn Russia into a global power to be reckoned with. His plans are to make Moscow the next financial center of Asia. He intends to forge a security alliance with China to rival America's alliance with NATO. Medvedev's doctrine has a velvet touch when it comes to domestic policies, but it conveys a solidly steel message to the West.
Syed Rashid Ali Shah
Vroomshoop, Netherlands

"Just What Exactly Does Dmitry Medvedev want?" A more apt opener for your article might have been "What is Dmitry Medvedev permitted to want by Vladimir Putin?" It is plain that the Russian duo is, somewhat successfully, cultivating a good cop/bad cop image meant for consumption both at home and abroad. There is only one person who really rules the roost, though. The idea that Medvedev is like a reborn Mikhail Gorbachev politically may strike a chord with some Russophile romanticists in Western societies, dreaming with eyes wide shut. A wake-up call has been provided by Putin's ambitions to reclaim the presidency as soon as the Russian Constitution permits.
Werner Radtke
Paderborn, Germany

Scots in English Politics
I read with interest your Nov. 17 item "Like Europe's Leaders, Obama Is Both Outsider and Insider" (PERISCOPE) and was amused by the following sentence: "Thus we have British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who spent a decade as chancellor of the exchequer, but remains a Scot in the middle of a political system dominated by the English." You make him sound so alone, when in fact many English people think there are too many Scots involved in English politics, especially when one considers that the Scots, Welsh and Northern Irish have their own parliaments or assemblies and deal with their own affairs. That is denied to the English, who are obliged to live under the British Parliament, and do not see the possibility of an English Parliament at any time in the future. This system allows Scots, Welsh and Northern Irish members of Parliament to vote on issues affecting the English community but excludes the English from voting on anything other than "British" matters. It would be nice if the English were to enjoy similar privileges.
Mike Phillips
Brindisi, Italy

Anti-Americanism in Turkey
It makes little sense to blame Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) for rising anti-Americanism ("The Most Anti-American Nation," Nov. 24). The government's anti-American rhetoric is a reaction to the general trend, and not the cause of it. In fact, of all the major political parties in Turkey, the AKP is widely seen as having the closest ties to Washington. The secular opposition regularly frames the government as a White House stooge, a claim that has long troubled the AKP's base. Soner Cagaptay is mistaken to suggest that Turkish public opinion of the United States is shaped primarily by the government. Traditionally, it has been the other way around. A majority of Turks had positive views of the United States in the mid-1990s, when the openly anti-Western Welfare Party of Necmettin Erbakan was at the helm. More Turks dislike America today because of its highly unpopular policies at Turkey's back door. If the new U.S. president wants to reverse that trend, he should start with turning the page on the Bush administration's disastrous policies in the Middle East.
Karabekir Akkoyunlu
London, England

Since the early 1990s, Turkey has found itself excluded by the Europeans and abandoned by the Americans. It is true that Turks today do not think very highly of the United States, but to say "there is now a tsunami of young Turks ready to die while trying to kill Americans" is pure propaganda with the intent of scaring ill-informed readers. Turkey is indeed a nation with numerous issues, many deeply rooted in history and related to identity, nationalism and secularism. The sensitive Kurdish issue has its origins in socioeconomic marginalization rather than any war on terror. Military operations targeting the Kurdistan Workers' Party will not solve this, but exemplary political leadership and reconciliation among the many subdued ethnicities will. I sincerely hope that President-elect Barack Obama does not listen to Soner Cagaptay's ideas, since that will only harm the American (and Turkish) cause even further. Turkey can and should be an American ally; however, the United States has to earn the trust and friendship of its allies rather than demand it.
Jonathan Sahlin
Freetown, Sierra Leone