ARTICLE; "Russians And U.S. Push Hard On Trade," by Andrew E. Kramer and Steven R. Weisman, New York Times, 12 July 2006, p. C1.

Bush and Co., despite the harsh rhetoric coming outta Cheney, have done seemingly better with Russia than China in offering the sorts of carrots that get us the cooperation we seek diplomatically on Iran and North Korea, which we see inching forward on both fronts, in part thanks to Kim's piling it on right now.

This article indicates that, rather than take up John McCain's scary call to boycott the G-8 meeting in Moscow over Putin's policies, Bush is pushing to have an accelerated deal on Russia's entry into the WTO, presumably to trumpet it at the summit.

Sharp move by this administration, though I do harbor some fears that deals like this with Russia and China are all part of the master China containment plan, which, as I've said before, is doomed to fail simply because so many allies, both old and new, will not let themselves be forced to choose between old American fears and new Chinese opportunities.

Still, good move by Bush. The Euros were signalling their own desire to cut a special trade deal with Russia to lighten the perceived blow from a failed Doha round. That we perhaps beat them to it is just fine: any bilat pressure stemming from intra-Core deals only pushes these states collectively toward more realistic stances in the Doha Round, along with those who sit across the tables. So every little bit helps.