ABSTRACT
This chapter analyses the evolution in the President George W. Bush administration's approach. It describes the adoption of the more ideologically framed approach – premised on Bush's 'freedom agenda' – from 2005. The chapter focuses on the truncated and fragile nature of US-Russia relations by the end of Bush's presidency will be briefly considered and assessed. A commitment to deploying a National Missile Defence (NMD) system had formed a core element of Bush's national security 'pitch' during the 2000 presidential election campaign. The American response to Russian activities in Chechnya had consistently been extremely limited, confined to sporadic rhetorical criticisms and imposing no significant sanctions on Russia. The United States-Russia relationship was ultimately neither strong nor deep enough to make the political risks necessary to reach a potential accommodation on this issue seem justifiable and feasible.
