More aggression, Mr Obama

Berlin is an ideal place for an American president, even a would-be president, to speak to the world about freedom and shared values. Barack Obama8217;s recent visit evoked the famous speeches of John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan that defended the US stance against the Soviet Union and tyranny in Eastern Europe. Both the Berlin Wall and the Soviet Union are now gone, but dangerous, nuclear-armed dictatorships are not. Sadly, Mr Obama declined to mention this in Berlin.

The stage for his disappointing performance was set several weeks ago, when the Illinois senator rejected John McCain8217;s proposal to eject Russia and exclude China from the Group of Eight8230; While Mr Obama talked about the importance of receiving Russia8217;s help in containing Iran8217;s nuclear ambitions, Reuters reported that Tehran is acquiring advanced S-300 surface-to-air missiles from the Kremlin. This is the cooperation the West has earned by including Russia in the G-8. Mr Obama also asked if the West would stand up for 8220;the human rights of the dissident in Burma, the blogger in Iran, or the voter in Zimbabwe8221;. Commendable, but what about the political prisoner in China and the recently convicted blogger in Russia? Zimbabwe8217;s Robert Mugabe and Russia8217;s Dmitri Medvedev both came to power in blatantly fraudulent elections. The hypocrisy of condemning one while embracing the other destroys American and European credibility8230; Those of us living behind the Iron Curtain at the time were grateful Ronald Reagan did not go to Berlin in 1987 to denounce the lack of freedom in, say, Angola.

Today, instead of communists there are deal-making capitalists and nationalists running the Kremlin and China8217;s National People8217;s Congress. The Cold War ended and democracy became the global standard not because Western leaders merely defended their values, but because they projected them aggressively. On September 11, 150 years ago, another Illinois politician to run for president, Abraham Lincoln, said: 8220;Our defence is in the preservation of the spirit which prizes liberty as the heritage of all men, in all lands, everywhere.8221; Not where it8217;s convenient.

Excerpted from a comment by Garry Kasparov in 8216;The Wall Street Journal8217;