OPINION
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US vs. Russia: Who's Won Summits Past?
By Jason Farago
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Posted Jul 6, 09 5:41 AM CDT
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(Newser)
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As Barack Obama arrives in Moscow for his toughest diplomatic challenge since taking office, the Guardian looks back on earlier US-Russia showdowns to gauge who had the upper hand.
- Kennedy vs. Khrushchev, 1961: The ultimate cold war summit, shadowed by the space race and the Berlin Wall. A draw, although JFK might have come out slightly ahead.
- Brezhnev vs. Nixon, 1972: Nuclear weapons took center stage, but the two had a good rapport. A narrow win for Nixon, who successfully rejiggered America's nuke strategy.
- Reagan vs. Gorbachev, 1987: Perhaps the most famous US-Russia summit, and a major triumph for Reagan. Within a few years the so-called "evil empire" had fallen.
- Bush vs. Putin, 2001: The president said he found Pooty-Poot charming, while the Russian spun his brutal war in Chechnya as legitimate. Putin cleaned Dubya's clock.
For other face-offs click the link below.