Bannerman believes these things need to be said, and while Putin is far from lily white insofar as his own political transgressions and governance is concerned, he is well within rights to make the claims he’s made. In fact, it’s vital that he, and world leaders generally, make these statements as a means of prompting the U.S. administration to consider its actions before taking them. It has become patently clear since September 11, 2001 that the United States no longer considers itself in need of the backing and community provided by the United Nations, nor answerable to the UN Security Council. The Bush administration, and its apologists worldwide have denigrated the global community body ceaselessly in a bid to have the collective buckle to its will. Thankfully, under Kofi Annan, no such buckling was ever likely. Bannerman sincerely hopes that ethos continues under Ban Ki-Moon.

In terms of abandoning democracy, as Putin rather eruditely stated, the United States has actually re-written what it claims to be democracy. Democracy is now formulated upon religious dogma, specifically, Christian religious dogma. George W. Bush believes he is on a mission for his God. His God blesses America, but Bannerman notes, does not appear to bless any other nation-state. His God decrees that he act arbitrarily in defiance of popular opinion, both at home and abroad. In defiance of legislature. In defiance of elected representatives. He is acting just as one might consider an all-powerful deity might desire to act. One-out, alone. Vladimir Putin might not adhere to the edicts of democracy as purely as he should, but then, what national leader on the face of this planet does? He is quite correct in stating that a unipolar world is dangerous. A unipolar world is not democracy. It is autocracy. It is very close to dictatorship. An autocratic unipolar world is not the world envisaged by Harry Truman and encouraged by his drive to establish the United Nations community and the collective governance of global security through the UN Security Council. Certainly, that body has not moved for the times and needs reform. It needs collective reform, consensus and conciliation, not unilateralism and religious fervour.

Bannerman applauds Vladimir Putin’s statements. He wishes that the Bush administration would take the Putin invitation, but knows all to well that such invitations are dismissed arbitrarily, arrogantly. He wishes more national leaders would have the forthrightness to stand and speak similarly. The world community needs them to. However, to accept an invitation to think, one must first be willing to admit fault. That willingness, Bannerman believes, simply doesn’t exist in a mindset which is driven by unshakeable self-belief and divinely granted right.