On Saturday, U.S. President George W. Bush is meeting his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in Ljubljana, Slovenia in what will be the first Russo-American summit of the 21st century. The issue that will dominate the talks is clear: Bush's grandiose plan for national missile defense. Like chess champs preparing for a match, the two leaders are going through elaborate notes prepared by their aides, trying to figure out what the other's stance will be. But Putin has the advantage.
Outside his own circle of supporters, Bush has received few endorsements for his national missile defense plan. Western Europe is skeptical, the Democrats ridicule it, China snaps and Russia snarls.
Justifiably or not, in the international arena Bush has the reputation of being a dummy, and the timing for a diplomatic offensive is extremely unfortunate. In principle, during the summit, Putin could limit his performance to mere recital of the European editorials of the last three months. However, the Russian president loves diplomacy as much as Bush detests it. Without a doubt, Putin sees himself a successor to brilliant European strategists like Bismarck and Churchill, and will use the meeting to try and prove it.