Let go of Cold War mentality, US defence chief tells Putin

fairfax digital

THE United States Defence Secretary, Robert Gates, has disputed a lengthy critique of American power by the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, telling a European security conference: "One Cold War was quite enough."

Mr Gates chose words of velvet, not steel, in offering Washington's fullest response to Mr Putin's long complaint on Saturday about US domination of global affairs.

"As an old Cold Warrior, one of yesterday's speeches almost filled me with nostalgia for a less-complex time," he said. "Almost."

Mr Gates, a former director of the CIA recently called back to government service from academia to serve as defence secretary, told attendees of the 43rd Munich Conference on Security Policy that both he and Mr Putin had spent most of their careers in their governments' spy agencies. "And, I guess, old spies have a habit of blunt speaking," Mr Gates said.

"However, I have been to re-education camp - spending 4½ years as a university president." His remark drew laughs and applause. His sharpest response to Putin was gently couched.

"Russia is a partner in endeavours," Mr Gates said.

"But we wonder, too, about some Russian policies that seem to work against international stability, such as its arms transfers and its temptation to use energy resources for political coercion."

Throughout the rebuttal, and in a longer discourse on how the US's European allies must help rebuild Afghanistan and remain engaged in the fight against terrorism, Mr Gates mentioned Mr Putin only once by name. That came when he said he had accepted an invitation from Mr Putin to visit Moscow.

Mr Gates cast himself as a geopolitical realist and drew a knowing laugh when he focused on Mr Putin's assertion that the US and its allies were dividing Europe. "All of these characterisations belong in the past," Mr Gates said. "The free world versus those behind the Iron Curtain. North versus South. East versus West. And I am told that some have even spoken in terms of old Europe versus new."

■ The US has asked Japan not to arrange a meeting between the Vice-President, Dick Cheney, and the Defence Minister, Fumio Kyuma, an apparent response to Mr Kyuma's criticism of US policy, Kyodo news agency reported.

Last month Mr Kyuma irked the US by saying it was wrong to start the war in Iraq. Mr Cheney is scheduled to meet the chief officers of Japan's Self-Defence Forces during a visit next week.