Submitted by Dernon, Sep 10, 2008 19:38

The Russians and Mr. Putin, newly bellicose -- that didn't take too long in the historical scheme of things, since Reagan helped dismantle the USSR, and President Bush having shrunk to about the size of a pea -- are already testing the new president before he is elected. My take on Alexander Drobyshevsky's cute disinclination to come clean is this: the planes will go back and forth, the purpose of their travels a studied ambiguity, until the morning after the US presidential election. If Mr. McCain wins, they'll very suddenly be needed back in Russia. If Mr. Obama, well, we can, without preconditions, talk about many things.

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