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10/04/2002 | stad
http://www.kpnews.com/main/11966/
U.S. must come clean
Washington appears on the point of ejecting Leonid Kuchma from the ranks of its strategic partners and consigning him to the shrinking band of Europe’s “problem leaders.” The recognition that Kuchma is unfit to be treated as a partner is welcome, however belated. But now, understandably, many are asking whether it can really be a coincidence that Kuchma should be fingered for approving military deliveries to embargoed Iraq just as opposition protests are rocking the country. Even U.S. Ambassador Carlos Pascual has described the timing of the revelation as “very unfortunate.”
By not revealing all it knows about this affair, Washington has weakened its case against Kuchma and opened itself to accusations that the move is politically motivated. The U.S. administration has been aware of the existence of the Melnychenko tapes for almost two years and has previously maintained a hands-off attitude, at least officially. Now, in a complete about face, the tapes have become the basis for the most serious rupture in U.S.-Ukrainian relations since independence. Melnychenko is reported to have handed over the 90-second extract in which Kuchma discusses the Iraqi arms deal to the Justice Department in May. The examination of this extract was ostensibly motivated by concern for the lives of the U.S. pilots who may soon be in action over Iraq. This is entirely understandable. However, the process of authentication should have been a matter of days or even hours, not five months. Are we to believe that the relevant agencies have been so backlogged with work they have only now been able to complete what must have been a priority assignment?
The timing of the announcement has given the presidential team an opportunity to rebuff criticism and revive its favorite claim that the Americans are manipulating the Melnychenko tapes to replace Kuchma with Viktor Yushchenko. Presidential Administration information policy department head Serhy Vasylyev told a conference on problems of the media on Sept. 27 that external forces are conducting “an information war against the president.”
The counterargument to such a conspiracy theory is that U.S. intelligence organizations must know perfectly well that such a strategy has little chance of actually getting rid of Kuchma. And it has every chance of backfiring and pushing Kuchma – and Ukraine – closer to the Russians. The president’s upcoming meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Zaporizhya is reminiscent of their meeting in Dnipropetrovsk last March at the height of the Gongadze scandal. Dissident Communists, loath to be labeled pawns in a U.S. plot, are making noises about using the scandal to split the opposition.
Over the last year, the United States and most other Western countries have kept Kuchma at arm’s length. However, at no point has there been any suggestion that the U.S. government ceases to treat Ukraine as a partner or that it is actively seeking Kuchma’s removal. For the United States to turn its back on Ukraine now would be downright immoral – that is unless Washington is prepared to fully disclose exactly what is going with the Iraq charges.
So far it hasn’t done that. In addition to the evidence of the Melnychenko tapes, U.S. officials also claim to possess some inconclusive evidence that the Kolchuga system is actually in place in Iraq. It is entirely possible that Washington is claiming the Melnychenko tapes as the primary source of its allegations in order to protect spies or other intelligence assets in Iraq.
No one expects the United States to compromise intelligence in Iraq. But to avoid further jeopardizing relations with a country that should continue to be an important ally – whatever the vagaries of its leader – the United States must be more forthcoming with the evidence it has on Ukraine’s relationship with Iraq. Failure to do so will only set off an anti-U.S. smear campaign in Ukraine’s state-controlled media, giving fuel to Kuchma’s inevitable eastward shift. That is the last thing this country needs
U.S. must come clean
Washington appears on the point of ejecting Leonid Kuchma from the ranks of its strategic partners and consigning him to the shrinking band of Europe’s “problem leaders.” The recognition that Kuchma is unfit to be treated as a partner is welcome, however belated. But now, understandably, many are asking whether it can really be a coincidence that Kuchma should be fingered for approving military deliveries to embargoed Iraq just as opposition protests are rocking the country. Even U.S. Ambassador Carlos Pascual has described the timing of the revelation as “very unfortunate.”
By not revealing all it knows about this affair, Washington has weakened its case against Kuchma and opened itself to accusations that the move is politically motivated. The U.S. administration has been aware of the existence of the Melnychenko tapes for almost two years and has previously maintained a hands-off attitude, at least officially. Now, in a complete about face, the tapes have become the basis for the most serious rupture in U.S.-Ukrainian relations since independence. Melnychenko is reported to have handed over the 90-second extract in which Kuchma discusses the Iraqi arms deal to the Justice Department in May. The examination of this extract was ostensibly motivated by concern for the lives of the U.S. pilots who may soon be in action over Iraq. This is entirely understandable. However, the process of authentication should have been a matter of days or even hours, not five months. Are we to believe that the relevant agencies have been so backlogged with work they have only now been able to complete what must have been a priority assignment?
The timing of the announcement has given the presidential team an opportunity to rebuff criticism and revive its favorite claim that the Americans are manipulating the Melnychenko tapes to replace Kuchma with Viktor Yushchenko. Presidential Administration information policy department head Serhy Vasylyev told a conference on problems of the media on Sept. 27 that external forces are conducting “an information war against the president.”
The counterargument to such a conspiracy theory is that U.S. intelligence organizations must know perfectly well that such a strategy has little chance of actually getting rid of Kuchma. And it has every chance of backfiring and pushing Kuchma – and Ukraine – closer to the Russians. The president’s upcoming meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Zaporizhya is reminiscent of their meeting in Dnipropetrovsk last March at the height of the Gongadze scandal. Dissident Communists, loath to be labeled pawns in a U.S. plot, are making noises about using the scandal to split the opposition.
Over the last year, the United States and most other Western countries have kept Kuchma at arm’s length. However, at no point has there been any suggestion that the U.S. government ceases to treat Ukraine as a partner or that it is actively seeking Kuchma’s removal. For the United States to turn its back on Ukraine now would be downright immoral – that is unless Washington is prepared to fully disclose exactly what is going with the Iraq charges.
So far it hasn’t done that. In addition to the evidence of the Melnychenko tapes, U.S. officials also claim to possess some inconclusive evidence that the Kolchuga system is actually in place in Iraq. It is entirely possible that Washington is claiming the Melnychenko tapes as the primary source of its allegations in order to protect spies or other intelligence assets in Iraq.
No one expects the United States to compromise intelligence in Iraq. But to avoid further jeopardizing relations with a country that should continue to be an important ally – whatever the vagaries of its leader – the United States must be more forthcoming with the evidence it has on Ukraine’s relationship with Iraq. Failure to do so will only set off an anti-U.S. smear campaign in Ukraine’s state-controlled media, giving fuel to Kuchma’s inevitable eastward shift. That is the last thing this country needs