Meeting With Congressman Rohrabacher

Thursday, April 1, 2011, I met Congressman Rohrabacher in his office in Washington D.C.  Two days earlier the Congressman gave a speech at the World Russia Forum.  In constrast to Richard Perle's speech earlier in the day, the Congressman's speech was not an attack on Russia, but an accurate assessment of Russia's role in the conflict in 2008 and the nation's interest in the Caucasus region and in combatting terrorism.

Congressman Rohrabacher said that Russia did not start the conflict in South Ossetia, but that Georgia had clearly done so.  This was not the first time he has publicly stated this.  In 2008, after the conflict, Mr. Rohrabacher forcefully said in Congress that "the fighting was started by Georgia.  The Georgians broke the truce." and not the Russians.  In the Congressman's speech at the Forum, he also said that Russia clearly has interests in the Caucasus region, just as the U.S. does in Central America. Further, he believes in the right of self-determination for the Abkhaz people.  Finally, his position, like mine, is that NATO should not be confronting Russia as if it represents the threat of the Soviet Union.  Rather, NATO should work together with Russia to meet the common threat of terrorism.

I was delighted to hear the speech and after I approached the Congressman and told him of my business in south Russia and Abkhazia.  Graciously, he and his staff arranged a meeting on short notice before I left town at the end of the week.

When we met in his office, the Congressman had a number of questions about my experiences in Russia and Abkhazia.  We spoke for a full hour and he was interested to learn more about Abkhazia and its history, culture and people.  I was pleased to have the chance to describe the reasons that I support Abkhazia and its independence.  I also told him that Abkhazia is blessed with natural resources, a spectacular coastline and mountains and that it is primed for development due to its location next to Sochi and the Russian market.  I also told the Congressman that I believed that the U.S. had a chance to help develop Abkhazia, thereby not only cementing relations with both Russia and Abkhazia, but also promoting American values of entrepreneurship, business ethics and democracy.  I believe he shares my views on these issues.  

Personally, I found Mr. Rohrabacher to be very bright, informed and a pleasure to speak to.  I told him that I hoped to see him in Russia and would gladly act as his guide.  I was happy to have an audience with the Congressman and I left buoyed by his interest and support.  

World Russia Forum, Washington D.C. March 29 - 30, 2011

I attended the World Russia Forum in Washington D.C. last week.  The Forum, which is run by Ed Lozansky, commemoriated the 50th anniversay of Yuri Gagarin's voyage as the first man in space on April 12, 1961. This year's program included speakers Konstantin Kosachev, the Chairman of the Russian Duma's Committee on Foreign Affairs, former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Richard Perle, Duma deputy Dr. Sergei Markov, Congressman Dana Rohrabacher and Dr. Robert Legvold.

The first afternoon, Chairman Kosachev's spoke on the issues facing Russian- American relations and the refusal by his Congressional counterpart, Republican Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, to meet with him.  He pointed out issues the Russian government would like to raise with the U.S. Government.  Richard Perle followed with an angry, shocking and finger waving diatribe against Russia and seemed to personally blame Mr. Kosachev for all. For some reason, he was very offended by Mr. Kosachev's comments, which came across as respectful in tone.

Mr. Perle said that the recent START missile treaty was a waste of time and a retreat to "Cold War" era thinking because the U.S. and Russia are no longer ideological enemies.  It was a neat rhetorical trick, considering he and his neocon cohorts have been accused of exactly that- trying to return the US to Cold War policies towards Russia.  Mr. Perle said he believes that reducing the number of nuclear weapons is a waste of time. But can a reasonable person argue that fewer nuclear weapons and reduced tensions is not worthwhile? There was no awareness on Perle's part that the aggressive neocon thinking and resulting American foreign policy during the Bush Administration was threatening to Russian security.  And that the tensions that resulted pushed us closer to a new "Cold War" than at any time since the collapse of the Soviet Union.  He also said that the Jackson- Vanik Amendment, which had been much discussed at the Forum, is not applicable to Russia.  Perle also decried the Khodorkovsky trial and imprisonment.  Khodorkovsky has been raised as a human rights issue, but Perle seems unaware that Khodorkovsky was on the radar screen of Lee Wolosky, the man who launched the hunt for international arms dealer Viktor Bout.  Wolosky felt 10 years ago that Khodorkovsky was a bigger threat to American security than Bout and accused him of the very crimes that he was convicted of last year.  So, Khodorkovsky is not Andre Sakharov.

Mr. Perle's speech, while provocative, was also embarassingly inappropriate.  I wondered (and I was not the only one) how someone with an obvious problem containing his temper in a public forum could rise to a high position in government, whatever his intellectual qualifications.

After Mr. Perle's turn at the podium, the audience was given the chance to ask him and Mr. Kosachev questions.  My question to Mr. Perle:  "American policy in the Caucasus is heavily influenced by the Republic of Georgia.  You have said that there are two sides to every issue, but the U.S. Government does not listen to the Republic of Abkhazia's positions.  How can the U.S. have an informed policy on this important region without input from one of the players?"

Mr. Perle replied that "we are talking to them."  This is false and I stated so.  Mr. Perle then said that "we know what they are thinking."  I think most know this is not a substitute for dilplomacy. His answer fell flat and Lozansky mercifully took the podium.   It was a surprising exchange to me because Mr. Perle seemed to be unaware of the situation in Abkhazia.  I expected him to reply with the position that his fellow neocon thinkier, Randy Scheunemann, and Senator John McCain have taken on Georgian territorial integrity, which conveniently and hypocritically ignores a very analogous situation in Kosovo.

There was a positive reaction from the audience to my question and several approached me to say that I had asked a question no one seemed to be asking and that Russians could not effectively raise because no one in Washington listens to them on the subject of the Caucasus.

Later that evening, I went to the Russian Embassy for a reception.  It was a pleasant evening with a lot of, Russian and American attendees of the Forum.  However, people were still talking about Perle's speech.  It is not hard to see how people like this can lead America down an aggressive and confrontational path towards Russia.  There is a double standard applied to Russia when compared to their statements on other nations. Fortunately is no longer the norm in American foreign policy.  Our policy is formulated based upon pragmatism, rather than the zero-sum, confrontational and ideologically rigid, neocon policies that soured our relations with Russia in the last decade. 

Abkhazia- Sochi

Over the last few days there has been an unusually strong storm in the region.  Typically winters are mild along the Russian Riviera and on Abkhazia's coast.  However, several days ago a Zanzibar flagged, Turkish owned ship broke apart off Sochi's beaches.  Last night an unusually substantial snowfall blanketed Abkhazia's coastal lowlands from Novy Afon to near Gagra.  Today was warmer and the snow will soon be gone,

Border Crossing

I have heard from several sources that the border crossing between Russia and Abkhazia will be rebuilt in the next several years.  This is welcome news to me and will be to the millions of tourists who are and will be crossing to enjoy Abkhazia's mountains and beaches.  The existing border crossing is swamped during the tourist season with waits of several hours for the tour buses and pedestrians crossing.  Last year, the passenger train between Adler, Russia and Gagra, Abkhazia reopened for service twice a day.  Ferry service will also ease the congestion.  But with more tourists coming to Abkhazia's, the improvements are necessary.

Sochi

The progress at the Olympic Village in Sochi has been very rapid.  The Village is near the beach, but a high speed rail is being built to connect it to the site of the Alpine events in Krasnaya Polyana.  When completed, it will take 25 minutes to travel between the two locations.  Krasnaya Polyana is also being constructed rapidly.  The entire valley is the site of many construction projects related to the Winter Olympics and tourism.  It is clear that Krasnaya Polyana will soon be a world class destination for winter sports enthusiasts.

Also, around the Olympic Village, Formula 1 Racing will be held starting in the summer of 2014.  At the same site, the Russians are building a new football stadium to accommodate the World Cup matches that will be held in Sochi.  There is a tremendous amount of activity and clearly the Russian government's efforts to bring major sporting events to Russia is spurring a lot of growth and development.

The Olympic Village is only a few kilometers from the border with Abkhazia.  As Tijuana and the beach zone south has developed due to its proximity to the American border, it is easy to foresee a similar pattern in Abkhazia,especially with its spectacular beauty.  It is very close to Sochi, which draws millions of Russian beach tourists and will soon host the Winter Olympics, Formula 1 Racing and World Cup Football.