Bush creates democratic spetsnaz
by Ivan Groshkov
RusData Dialine – Russian Press Digest
May 20, 2005 Friday
SOURCE: Nezavisimaya Gazeta, No 98, p.6
Washington to focus of “velvet revolutions”
U.S. President George W. Bush predicted more democratic changes across
the Caucasus and Central Asia – areas that were once part of the Soviet
Union – and pledged Washington would help new democratic governments.
Speaking at a Washington dinner on Wednesday evening given by the
International Republican Institute, Bush recalled the arrival of
democratic governments in the former Soviet republics of Georgia,
Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan as well as in Iraq and Lebanon in the last 18
months and said more countries would follow.
“These are just the beginnings,” Bush said, according to a transcript
of his speech published on the White House’s web site. “Across the
Caucasus and Central Asia, hope is stirring at the prospect of change –
and change will come.”
The comments appeared aimed at the former Soviet republics of Armenia
and Azerbaijan in the South Caucasus and Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan,
Tajikistan and Turkmenistan in Central Asia.
Bush also announced a plan to create an Active Response Corps within
the State Department by 2006 that would be on call to quickly deploy
staff to crisis situations in countries that overthrow “tyranny”
and elect pro- Western governments.
The U.S. federal budget for 2006 will request $24 million for this
office and $100 million for a new Conflict Response Fund, Bush said.
Nezavisimaya Gazeta presumes that George W. Bush has finally understood
– velvet revolutions are much more cost-efficient than military
operations in order to overthrow undemocratic regimes. They are not
only cheaper, but they also help to preserve the state administration
structures that get destroyed during military conflicts.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress