In a sudden, unexpected move, Russian president Vladimir Putin (of Bush soul-sensor fame) fired his prime minister, effectively dissolving the Russian government, and quickly replaced him with Victor Zubkov, a little-known bureaucrat in charge of investigating money-laundering. President Putin explained the shakeup was required to "prepare the country" for forthcoming elections.

Putin’s selection of Victor Zubkov, with whom he worked while in St. Petersburg’s city administration, may have been influenced by his recent agreements to boost economic links with the United Arab Emirates, focusing on fighting crime and money-laundering, political consultation, astronomy cooperation and banking.

In comments to Russian reporters before leaving, Putin said that Russia and the United States still had a chance to reach agreement on the vexed question of Washington's missile defence plans...Putin was accompanied to the UAE by the director of Russian arms exporter Rosoboronexport, as well as those of the airline Aeroflot and space agency Roskosmos. Putin and his Emirati counterpart discussed developments in the Middle East peace process and war-torn Iraq...

In February, Putin visited Qatar where he discussed the formation of a gas cartel, similar to OPEC. He also offered assistance to the Saudi Arabian kingdom in developing a civil nuclear program, similar to the one Russia is building for Iran, Saudi’s rival.
In May, the US and Russian foreign ministers openly spared at the G8. The Russian foreign minister accused the US of starting a new arms race and threatened to veto a US-European UN Security Council resolution to recognize Kosovo as independent from Russia.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice seemed to be egocentrically rather than diplomatically engaged, as her participation was likened to a tennis match: "...every time (Russian Minister) Lavrov said something, Condi would jump in," the official said. "It was like tennis."

That was followed in June by President Putin characterizing "White House policies as imperialist, colonialist and arrogantly 'unilateral.'"

Not to be outdone, Bush accused Putin of derailing Russia’s democratic reforms and pledging to continue with the anti-missile shield.

According to Robert Draper, whose new book “Dead Certain” is based on recent interviews with Bush, "...he hoped things in Iraq will improve enough so that his successor will 'be comfortable about sustaining a presence,' and, he said later, 'stay longer.'"

Just days later General Petraeus delivered his professional military assessment to stay the course despite acknowledging in unsworn Senate "testimony" that he hadn’t thought about whether the course of action in Iraq made Americans safer.

Petraeus boasted of Anbar province as an Iraqi area of success.

Two days later, Abdul-Sattar Abu Risha died in an IED explosion outside his home. He was the Sunni tribal leader in Anbar province cooperating with the US against alQaeda.

Bush callously plays for time, at the cost of American lives and treasure, in a move to entice his successor to stay in Iraq longer (and thereby handing over his self-made catastrophe and his responsibility for cleaning up his own messes). He continues to divert his attention in a myopically misfocused Iraq war, devised and sold on deception and lies to the American people and the international community.

Meanwhile Russia gears up for self-protection from a perceived US threat as well as for possible aggression against Chechyna by testing the "Father of All Bombs," the largest non-nuclear bomb equivalent to 11 tons of TNT.

Still like what you see in Putin’s soul, George? As you fail miserably at diplomacy, the world moves toward more, and more dangerous militancy.

We know that’s what you’ll say tonight: stay the course and we can return to pre-surge levels in a year. It’s an old negotiator’s trick, George, to put in place something you don’t need and then offer to give it back. You’re vying for another year of bloodshed, squandered lives, mounting debt, and increasing national and international insecurity - all for your misadventure to be a war-time president. It’s all about you, George. It was never about the safety and security of the American people.