WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration continues to press for assistance from other nations in Iraq, but without notable success. Both Germany and Russia now indicate a willingness to help, but not with troops. Said Russian President Vladimir Putin in advance of his summit with his American counterpart George W. Bush, "It's not even being considered now."
Although a number of U.S. analysts agree with former world chess champion Garry Kasparov that Moscow is no friend of America, Putin still receives kindly treatment in Washington, in contrast to that of another member of the former Soviet Union which has been more helpful: Ukraine.
Ukraine's President Leonid Kuchma supported the Bush administration's war in Iraq and recently deployed 1,800 troops in Iraq. But because his rule, like that of Putin, has been tainted by charges of corruption and abuse of power, the Bush administration has kept Kiev out in the cold.