In response to Russian concerns that the American missile defense system being deployed in Eastern Europe could threaten the credibility of its nuclear deterrent, on July 21, 2008, Izvestia reported that the Russian Air Force was considering deploying nuclear-capable bombers to Cuba. The next day, in his confirmation hearings as Air Force Chief of Staff, Gen. Norton Schwartz declared that, if the Russians did that, “we should stand strong and indicate that is something that crosses a threshold, crosses a red line for the United States of America.” Fortunately, two days later the Russian Defense Ministry defused the crisis by stating that it had no such intentions.
While we can breathe a sigh of relief that that mini-crisis never escalated to full-blown status, study of the Cuban Missile Crisis shows that we neglect such warning signs at our peril. Both in October 1962 and July 2008, Russia viewed itself as responding to earlier, aggressive actions taken by America, while Americans viewed events through a very different filter.
Last August’s Georgian war provides another example of the danger that results from differing American and Russian perceptions. Many Americans view that war as a modern day version of Hitler’s 1938 annexation of Czechoslovakia – unprovoked aggression that must be countered before it excalates to threaten the entire world. The Russians, along with some surprising Western experts, see things very differently. For example, conservative columnist Patrick Buchanan wrote that "American charges of Russian aggression ring hollow. Georgia started this fight - Russia finished it. People who start wars don't get to decide how and when they end."
Because vastly different Russian and American perspectives have catastrophic potential, I applaud this web site’s efforts to help Americans better understand the other point of view. Understanding it is not the same as agreeing. But, like the three blind men who encounter an elephant and argue whether it is a sharp rock (the tusk), a tree (the leg), or a serpent (the trunk), combining the two points of view can bring us closer to the truth. But here, much more is at stake than just overcoming our own limited perspective. Literally the fate of the world may hang in the balance.
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