Russians are telling it like it is

Gorbachev recently accused Americans of arrogance and trying to impose their way of life on other nations.
He went on to say of the Bush administration, "They are just hawks protecting the interests of the military -- shallow people."
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"If we go back 100 years and look through the newspapers, we see what arguments the colonial powers of that time advanced to justify their expansion into Africa and Asia," Vladislav Surkov, Putin's deputy chief of staff said. "They cited arguments such as playing a civilizing role, the particular role of the white man, the need to civilize 'primitive peoples.'"
He went on: "If we replace the term 'civilizing role' with 'democratization,' then we can transpose practically word for word what the newspapers were writing 100 years ago to today's world and the arguments we hear from some of our colleagues on issues such as democratization and the need to ensure democratic freedoms."