{"product_id":"2940148368786","title":"THE AFGHANISTAN QUESTION AND THE RESET IN U.S.-RUSSIAN RELATIONS","description":"U.S. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has said\u003cbr\u003ethat the ability of the United States and Russia to cooperate\u003cbr\u003ein Afghanistan will be a solid test of their reset\u003cbr\u003ein relations. That proposition is the thesis of this\u003cbr\u003emonograph. Many analysts in both countries would\u003cbr\u003eagree with this assessment, but a significant number\u003cbr\u003eof them believe a fruitful reset is implausible.\u003cbr\u003eAmerican skeptics argue that under Vladimir Putin,\u003cbr\u003eRussia has reversed the timid efforts that Boris\u003cbr\u003eYeltsin embraced to safeguard political pluralism in\u003cbr\u003eRussia. But in addition to the awesome value gap that\u003cbr\u003ecompromises cooperation, Russia has demonstrated\u003cbr\u003ethat it favors confrontation and not cooperation with\u003cbr\u003ethe West; witness the 2008 Russia-Georgian War.\u003cbr\u003eFrom the Russian perspective, one finds similar arguments\u003cbr\u003eagainst cooperation. For example, the Americans\u003cbr\u003eare looking to exit from a military engagement\u003cbr\u003ethat is not going well for them, and all metrics suggest\u003cbr\u003ethings will get worse instead of better. Why, then,\u003cbr\u003eshould Russia become involved in a lost cause? The\u003cbr\u003eAmericans want Russia’s help because the U.S. population\u003cbr\u003ehas turned against the war in Afghanistan and\u003cbr\u003ein 2012 most European troops will leave Afghanistan.\u003cbr\u003eWithout discounting the many roadblocks, leaders\u003cbr\u003ein both countries believe that even limited security cooperation\u003cbr\u003eis in their vital interest. In this connection, both Washington and Moscow deem a return of the\u003cbr\u003eTaliban in Afghanistan as detrimental to their respective\u003cbr\u003esecurity priorities.","brand":"ReadCycle","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47072805781744,"sku":"2940148368786","price":2.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940148368786_p0.jpg?v=1763701933","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940148368786","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}