PUTIN AND BUSH….Russian President Vladimir Putin told reporters today that Russian intelligence had knowledge of Iraqi plans to launch terrorist attacks on the United States after 9/11. It’s hard to know how to take this since we have no idea whether it’s true or not, but there’s definitely one intriguing aspect to this: why did Putin suddenly announce this news today? Kim Murphy, the LA Times’ Moscow correspondent, writes this:
In a move whose timing is widely seen in Russian political circles as an attempt to support Bush’s reelection, Putin said Russian agents received information after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks that Iraqi agents were plotting strikes against other U.S. targets, both at home and abroad.
Why do Russian political circles think that Vladimir Putin wants George Bush to win reelection? And if they’re right, why does Vladimir Putin want George Bush to win reelection?
