Russian Resurgence Gives Cause For Worry

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MELISSA BLOCK, host:

Our attention has been on politics a lot lately and on the severe weather along the Gulf Coast.

Our senior news analyst Daniel Schorr wants to point out something we might have missed.

DANIEL SCHORR: While Americans are immersed in dramas at home, from Hurricane Gustav to candidate Palin, the rest of the world goes on.

Japan's prime minister announces his resignation. Thailand's regime is threatened by a massive protest movement and struggles to stay in power. And Russia, in particular, seizes the opportunity to stride across the world stage that America no longer dominates.

The Bush administration has left it to the European Union to bear the brunt of the effort to talk Russia into pulling its troops out of Georgia. The E.U. holds crisis sessions and issues stern warnings and the inhabitance of the Kremlin, yawn.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, perhaps with a twinkle in his eye, borrows an idea from the film "Wag the Dog" and suggests that the White House may have orchestrated the war in Georgia to improve the chances of one of the presidential candidates - that would be Senator John McCain, presumably.

Vice President Dick Cheney is visiting Georgia to convey America's continuous support. But the Bush Administration, like the European Union, is short on sanctions and other means of pressure. The Kremlin is not likely to be intimidated by the U.S. threat to hold up a recent agreement for nuclear cooperation. Russia apparently aims a regime change in Georgia, bringing down the pro-American Saakashvili government. But Kremlin aims are not limited to Georgia.

President Dmitry Medvedev has enunciated a series of principles that would establish a Russian severe of influence over neighboring countries that used to be under Soviet control. He rejected the idea of American domination in world affairs.

At home, in Russia, an opposition journalist was shot dead while in police custody. There is a great reason to worry about a Russia resurgent after the Soviet collapse in 1991. Americans will surely get to worrying about that as soon as the election is over.

This is Daniel Schorr.

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