European Standard

This took place three years ago, but it was so funny that I want to share with you guys. It shows how Lukashenka, dubbed “Last Dictator in Europe”, is ruling Belarus. (Radio Free Europe)

Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka, accused of inflating his vote tally to win reelection in March, says he actually reduced the number of votes he received to make the result more acceptable to the West.

Lukashenka made the remark to journalists in Minsk on November 23.

"Yes, we falsified the latest elections," Lukashenka said. "I have already told the Westerners about this. As many as 93.5 percent of voters voted for President Lukashenka. But they said this was not a 'European' figure. And we reduced it to 86 [percent]. That's indeed what happened."

Finally, he recognized the fact that his government has rigged the election, but just the opposite direction. How modest he is. It really shows his commitment to rejoin Europe and reestablish good relations with neighbors, or does it?

The only thing is he actually only got 83% in the official tally. It turns out his subordinates have done a better job than he expected.

There are so many fake or heavily-rigged elections in the world. Are they a good step forward or they are even worse than no election at all?

End of the Star War?

Obama administration finally scrapped the plan to install anti-missile defense system in Eastern Europe. The plan was put forward by the previous administration, which they claimed to be a precaution to potential Iranian missile threat, but actually stirred Russian government's strong objection.

Some politicians and analysts voiced their concerns. They believe this move, clearly aiming to appease Russia before Obama's meeting with Pres. Medvedev in a few days, is a damaging precedent. The growing-aggresive Russian government will certainly be encouraged to take a more hawkish and less cooperative foreign policy. Moreover, this will anger Poland and Czech Republic, indicating U.S. will abandon their interests whenever necessary.

I applaude this move, because this serves the best interests of the United States, Eastern European countries and the international community.

The plan was based on a non-existent Iranian threat to Europe. Iran's long-distance missile technology still has a long way to go, and whether he wants to threaten Europe is also disputable. But what we know is this installment will certainly make Russians angry. Of course, Russian's assertion of sphere of influence in Eastern Europe is objectionable, but showing off power in front of Russia's front door is not a good way to quell Russian's growing ambition, but to stimulate it.

Realists believe the states will always ask for more if they are given what they want. That was possibly true during the time of Cuban Missile Crisis, but whether it would be the case now is questionable. No longer a superpower, Russia understands his capability and limitless demand wouldn't help his dream of reemergence. On the contrary, Obama administration's new plan strips Russia of his excuse of non-cooperation. Russia now will face a massive pressure from international community to work with other countries in forcing Iran to terminate its nuclear program. It also weakens the popular support of hawkish foreign policy in Russia. This is not a surrender of power, but a correction of a non-starter in the first place.

On the other hand, this plan doesn't mean that U.S. forsakes its right to install any missile system in Eastern Europe in the future if necessary. And military believes the new plan will work more efficiently.

We should also remember the fact that Polish and Czech governments and public didn't like that plan proposed by the Bush administration at first. The high cost and a clear provocation to Russia is hurtful to both of them. The implication on the relations with those two countries won't be so distrastrous as many predict.

Flexibility in foreign policy is always important. Setting too many things as non-negotiable would hurt the foreign policy-making process and the result is unlikely to be pleasing. Being tough will never bring an ambitious Russian back to the table, so why not try something new? The end of the star war is a good news for everyone.