Hi, I'm Bill Crystal. Welcome to Conversations. We're reissuing a conversation from April 2018 with Gary Kasparov in which we discuss his analysis of Vladimir Putin is very prescient understanding of the threat Vladimir Putin posed to the west to democracy expressed in his book winter is coming now with Ukraine invaded.

Maybe winter has come and there's much in this conversation with Gary Kasparov that we can learn from.

Hi, I'm Bill Crystal. Welcome to Conversations and I'm pleased to be joined today again by Gary Kasparov the great world chess champion democracy activist.

Author of several books including the one we spent a conversation discussing I think when it came out what three years ago.

Yeah, almost three years winter is coming so that was on the state of the world and has winter come what are you more cheerful less cheerful what was the subtitle of that.

Why Vladimir Putin and the enemies of the free world must be stopped so I think it's quite a timely conversation so how's that going how's the free world doing against the enemies of the free world.

When the book was released in October 2015 there were many good positive reviews raving in reviews the walls to journal weekly standard the economist financial times London times of course there was the.

Trashing review from New York Times based on the character issues of trying to present the book was all about Obama bashing though the book was highly critical about.

Bush 43 but Clinton and about the overall policy after after call war and my criticism was based on the fact that since 1991 America failed to come up with a long-term strategy and I think this is one of the most important and very overlooked element of this construction.

The dictators are very good in in being reactive so this is they they are opportunists tacticians while democracies must rely on long-term strategy it's about laying down the strategy for years to come not necessarily to benefit the office holder now.

And as for instance in in mid 40s in the 1946 Truman administration set up policies and also built institutions like National Security Council CIA NATO Marshall Plan voice of America was turned into the counter propaganda to and it worked 40 years later with a Republican president Ronald Reagan so delivering the final daily blow to communism.

Since early 90s we could see that American foreign policy worked more like a pendulum swinging from one side to another and was all about president Clinton is there doing little.

George W. Bush are doing too much as many say so though I would not agree with such you know harsh assessment Obama doing absolutely nothing and it created an impression in the outside world that America can no longer be reliable leader.

Because if everything depends on on the office holder today so how can you expect America just to lead the world the free world especially at the time where we could see the rise of dictators all over.

So let's talk about that so three years later the underpaid dictators are stronger in the west and the free world is a little weaker no.

Maybe today we see some hope because I think the free world now is is is about to recognize the threat so just recently we could see that g seven.

For ministers agree to create a special group to study malicious behavior of Russia including meddling in the elections not only in America but also in Europe interference with the political process.

Attempts to assassinate and sometimes assassinations of of enemies of the regime outside outside of Russia and of course fake news industry and wars just you know when annexation of Crimea war in in Eastern Ukraine and and genocide in Syria.

It's a good move as few others made by American administration and European allies but it's it's late it's just what what bothers me that certain moves are being made but they always behind.

So for instance the same limited strike against Syrian targets in 2013 as Trump did sometime ago could have dramatic effect and I believe would have prevented Assad from moving forward and using chemicals again.

And Putin I cannot guarantee but most likely would not enter Syria but today as as we predicted and as we learn from history books the price went up any delay by responding to aggression of a dictator any delay in in in recognizing the threat.

So emboldens dictators especially at the time today when unlike 75 years ago or even 25 years ago in just Clinton's days when we the world did nothing to stop genocide and Rwanda we know about it it's not that we can claim our ignorance we never heard about it we we're doing something else it was not a television today most of the of this brutal acts of this genocide you know they are they their own life.

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