How’s that ‘reset’ with Russia going?

Once upon a time, many commentators reasoned that following the ham-fisted Bush administration in all things foreign policy would be a piece of cake, even for a foreign policy neophyte like Barack Obama. After all, Mr. Obama had the moral and political courage to call the Iraq War the quagmire-in-waiting it was destined to become. If he’s blessed with such clear-headed thinking, then surely Mr. Obama could navigate other foreign policy shoals, like Russia.

But things have taken a turn for the worse with Russia. Mr. Obama’s much lauded Russian Reset had the aim of establishing a “fresh start” with the Russians. The logic went something like this: both sides would concentrate on areas of common interest and put away some of the more intractable differences, and this would be accompanied by a change in tone that signaled cooperation and mutual respect.

Among other things, what the Russians wanted from the Reset was an about-face on American plans to install a network of missile defense systems in Poland, an about-face on American plans to build oil & gas pipelines circumventing Russian territory, an about-face on NATO’s campaign to woo Ukraine into the fold, an about-face on America’s new coziness with Georgia, and ultimately, an end to the foot-dragging on Russia’s application for full World Trade Organization membership. In return, the Americans wanted Russia to undertake measures inside its borders to strengthen representative democracy and civil society and help with thwarting Iran’s desire to go nuclear.

“What we’re seeing today is the beginning of new progress in the U.S.-Russian relations,” commented Mr. Obama after his first meeting with the Russian president Dmitri Medvedev. Sounds promising, right?

The reality, now three years on, is not so promising. Russia has gotten most of what it wanted. On September 17, 2009, President Obama killed his predecessor’s plan to install an antiballistic missile shield in Eastern Europe; happily for the Russians, the proposed Nabucco pipeline project in Turkey has completely fallen apart and has not been replaced as yet with any viable plan to route gas around Russia; after a series of electoral setbacks for liberals, Ukraine has never been further from the West’s orbit; Russia’s little war with and subsequent occupation of Georgia has limited American appetite for a closer relationship with the Georgians; and to top it off, this month, Russia will be seated at the WTO as a member in full.

Meanwhile, the Americans have gotten absolutely nothing from the Reset. If anything, our two concerns mentioned above have grown more worrisome since 2009, and now we can add a third problem area – Russia’s unwavering support of the Assad regime in the growing Syrian civil war. On the civil society front, Russia has regressed since the election of Vladimir Putin (once again) to the Russian presidency. First, the manner of his election is problematic. Widespread voting fraud, the disqualification of candidates, the diversion of public monies into private election coffers – this election was far from fair. And since the election, we have seen ever-stronger tactics by Russian authorities to crack down on dissent, including the latest and greatest measure, the imprisonment of a female punk rock band that had the audacity to sing an anti-Putin song in a Moscow cathedral. Also, at the reading of the verdict against the punk rockers, chess master and political activist Gary Kasparov was assaulted and detained. He will appear on CNBC’s Closing Bell today to discuss what happened.

On the Iran front, again, the Americans end up with nothing. Iran is closer today to the bomb than it was in 2009, and the Russians have done relatively little to assist in anti-proliferation efforts.

Perhaps it’s time to reset the Reset.