Putin: Measure Your Success by Non-Fired Missiles!

video: 1 min, 39 sec

The Russian Prime Minister says he’s alarmed by NATO’s approach towards bombing Libya. At a news conference following Russian-Swedish talks, Putin said the coalition is quick to act no matter the cost. Putin says: “It’s well-known that I used to serve in the KGB. At that time, the Soviet Union was waging a war in Afghanistan. Many of my friends served in Afghanistan. One of them was the head of the advisors group on the security bodies in Herat. One day, he went on leave, and I asked him, ‘Listen Sasha, how’s the situation there?’ And at that time, our country had a very patriotic spirit. We believed that we were doing a very good thing having this war in Afghanistan. His reply came back unexpectedly: ‘You know, without my signature no single missile or bomb attack can be fired.’ ‘So what?’ said I. ‘I assess my success and my achievements by the number of orders that I don’t sign.’ For me, it sounded just shocking. Can you imagine hearing that from a KGB officer at that time? I asked, why? He said, ‘Do you know how many peaceful civilians perish because of these missile attacks, no matter what reasons are behind them?’ Sometimes I contemplate how easily decisions on using force are made today in international affairs, and it leaves me gobsmacked. And that happens against the background of all the fuss around human rights and humanism which the modern civilized world seemingly practices. Don’t you see a significant contradiction here between theory, the words and deeds, the practice of international affairs? And we should do our utmost to eliminate this imbalance.

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