THE WORLDS RICHEST AND MOST DANGEROUS GANGSTER

Suppose there's a Mafia Don.  Not a benign and pro-American Marlon Brando Godfather, but a ruthless brutal gangster who hates America and holds a bottomless grudge against her.

Let's suppose this Mafioso has amassed an enormous personal fortune of ill-gotten gains.  Stashed away in hidden bank accounts and assets all over the world, his net worth exceeds 20 billion dollars – billion with a ‘b'.

But say that's just his personal stash.  Say the total amount of money his gang has accumulated is 300 billion – almost a third of a trillion dollars in cash.  Say he controls it.

Let's finally suppose that this centibillionaire anti-American gangster has an arsenal of several thousand nuclear bombs, most of them in the nose cones of intercontinental missiles aimed at us.

If there were such a man, shouldn't we be a bit more worried about him than a bankrupt midget in Persia without a single real nuke to his name?

For there is indeed such a man.  His name is Vladimir Putin, President of Russia.

On February 9 in an ill-received speech at the Munich Security Conference, he seemed to announce a return to the Cold War, bitterly denouncing the "uni-polar world" dominated by the "hyper-power" of America.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who spoke after Putin, laughed it off by commenting, "One Cold War was enough."  The reaction of other world leaders was summed up by Nato Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer describing Putin's speech as "disappointing and not helpful." 
 
The Russian Bully is back.  Threats, intimidation, arming any adversary of America's to the teeth (Putin just signed a $3 billion arms deal with Hugo Chavez;  Russian nuclear technology is helping Iran build nukes), spending hundreds of billions to rebuild the Russian Red Army. 

The silver lining is that the Bear is no longer a Commie.  Putin is not a Marxist ideologue – just a Russian nationalist gangster with billions of dollars and thousands of nukes.  So, no, the Cold War is not back, only the Bear.

And the Bear is dying.  Literally.  When the Soviet Union ended in 1991 there were 165 million Russians.  Now there are less than 140, falling off a demographic cliff.  Already, there are fewer people in Russia than Pakistan, and within a decade or so, there will be fewer Russians than Mexicans. 

The life expectancy of Russian men is 58.83 years, lower than those of Bangladesh at 60.73.  Millions of Russian men drink a gallon or more of vodka a week.  Millions more are dying of AIDS. 

As we discussed last November in Chinese Siberia,  Russia will lose most if not all of its territory in Siberia to China within a generation or less.

But that's the long run.  We have to deal with a bitter and rich Russia right now.  The first thing to do, of course, is stand up to Russian bullying.  An example is what Bush and Condi are doing regarding missile defense sites in Poland and the Czech Republic.

Russian Generals are making loud threats about these sites, serving to make the Czechs and Poles mad not frightened.  Yesterday (2/21), Condi dismissed Russia's threats as "extremely unfortunate," which is diplo-speak for "Thank you for sharing."

Yet something far more proactive is being considered by the Bushistas.  What makes Putin a pain in the zhopy is his money, siphoned off from oil revenues.  Bush and Condi are thinking of going after it.  Cheney thinks it's a great idea. 

First will come a hard back-channel hint that international news stories may, just may, be coming out exposing one or two of Pootie's major assets.  If that doesn't bring him to heel, a dribble of exposés emerge, then more, then demands by opposition folks in the Duma (Russian Parliament) for disclosure, then investigations by Interpol, then seizure of assets.

Ratcheting up exposure of Putin as the world's greatest crook may be the one way to put a leash on him.  So keep your eye out for one of two things:  a modification of Russian behavior, less threats and bluster, more nicey-nice, or news items on Putin's "stolen billions."

If you see either, you'll know the Bush-Cheney-Condi plan is in motion.  If you see neither, you'll know their feet got frostbite.

It's sad that Russia can never overcome the fatal flaws in its culture and become a genuine part of and partner in Western Civilization.  To understand why, I strongly suggest you read A Short History of Russia, originally written in 1985 – yes, 1985, when there was a Soviet Union.

Then you'll see why playing go-for-the-jugular hardball is the only way to deal with rich Russian gangsters like Pootie-Poot.