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View Full Version : Putin: ‘We Certainly Would Not Want…The Kind of Democracy As They Have In Iraq"


Richard Tafoya
Jul 15th, 2006, 01:20 PM
Think Progress:
http://thinkprogress.org/2006/07/15/putin-jab/

During a press conference today at the G8 summit in Russia, President Bush told President Vladimir Putin that Americans want Russia to develop a free press and free religion “like Iraq.” To laughter and applause, Putin responded: “We certainly would not want to have same kind of democracy as they have in Iraq, quite honestly.” CNN’s Ed Henry called it a “tough jab.” Watch it (http://images1.americanprogress.org/il80web20037/ThinkProgress/2006/putinbush.320.240.mov):


http://thinkprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2006/07/putinbush.jpg (http://images1.americanprogress.org/il80web20037/ThinkProgress/2006/putinbush.320.240.mov)

The exchange underscores how the war in Iraq has damaged the standing of the United States, to the point where even modest encouragement for democratic reform is met with ridicule.

Regis Philbin
Jul 15th, 2006, 09:38 PM
No, Pooty-poo doesn't want democracy at all...he wants to go back to the good 'ol days of Stallinist communism that they "enjoyed" as the Soviet Union. Now that Russia is swimming in oil money, they don't want to cooperate with the U.S. about anything anymore...

buzzlightbeer
Jul 15th, 2006, 11:19 PM
I support Bush and think he is a stand-up guy. But he shouldn't lecture other countries. He got his butt handed to him there.

lost_n_justin's_smile
Jul 16th, 2006, 09:13 PM
Priceless! I laughed when I heard that on CNN yesterday. I would've loved to have been there to see Bush's reaction in person;)

alive
Jul 17th, 2006, 01:13 AM
No, Pooty-poo doesn't want democracy at all...he wants to go back to the good 'ol days of Stallinist communism that they "enjoyed" as the Soviet Union. Now that Russia is swimming in oil money, they don't want to cooperate with the U.S. about anything anymore...


I agree! :D
He just wants to go back to what they used to have as SU. What he is after is the oil and the influence SU used to have in the region. Now that his country has Ukraine under his wings again, he is ready to urge Iran to stop the uranium enrichment...:rolleyes:

pinky
Jul 17th, 2006, 10:13 AM
Putin may not want democracy for Russia. But NOBODY wants democracy as it now exists in Iraq.

Java
Jul 17th, 2006, 09:33 PM
President Vladimir Putin does make a good point. In nations where there are so many ethnic groups at odds with eachother democracy simply will not work - it would get bogged down to the point where nobody had any kind of 'freedoms' because one group's 'freedoms' if allowed would enrage the others, and if one group's 'freedoms' were allowed above the others it would no longer be a democracy.