Gorbachev: U.S. Getting Intoxicated By Its Position

Gorbachev: US getting intoxicated by its position

http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanhe...4525200643.asp

4/2/2006

In an interview being published in the upcoming issue of Time magazine, Gorbachev said the United States cannot impose its will on others and the talk of pre-emptive strikes, of ignoring the UN Security Council and international legal obligations are leading towards a "dark night".

Criticising the United States for getting "intoxicated" by its position as the world's only superpower, former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev has asked Washington to realise that it also has responsibilities.

In an interview being published in the upcoming issue of Time magazine, Gorbachev said the United States cannot impose its will on others and the talk of pre-emptive strikes, of ignoring the UN Security Council and international legal obligations are leading towards a "dark night".

Some people, he emphasised, might be pushing President George W Bush in the wrong direction but he rejected the suggestion that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was one of them.

"She is one who is committed to political and diplomatic solutions. But she is having a difficult time. So did Colin Powell," he added.

He was highly critical of his successor Boris Yeltsin, saying he ruined Russia and allowed the wealth of the nation to be taken away by a few people. "And West was never critical of Yeltsin." Now, he said current President Vladimir Putin is trying to "clean the mess" left by Yeltsin.

Gorbachev had high praise for Putin who, he said, is trying to move forward towards more social-democratic policies, to improve health care and education as also other sectors.

But he lamented that just as Russia is beginning to rise again, the West does not accept it. "But America cannot impose its will and should get over that."