LEBED HAS FEW ORIGINAL IDEAS ON MILITARY REFORM.

A recent article on military reform by retired Lt. General Aleksandr Lebed offers little original on the subject, suggesting that Lebed has failed to develop a compelling platform on the issue. The announced presidential candidate has been a tireless critic of the current defense minister for his failure to rebuild the Russian army. Yet in his article he adopts the military establishment’s own tired position that a reduction of the army to 1.2 million troops would save the government little money while significantly undermining national security. Lebed also makes the unlikely argument that Russia’s short-term security is ensured by the nation’s very weakness. According to the retired general, Russia’s emergence from its current difficulties will complicate its security situation because Moscow will then be compelled to assert its national interests beyond Russian borders. (11)

Council of Europe Pressures Russia on Human Rights.