15 f\u00e9vrier 2007 — Il faut appr\u00e9cier la th\u00e8se : le discours de Poutine \u00e0 Munich nous aurait r\u00e9serv\u00e9 le privil\u00e8ge de d\u00e9couvrir le hideux visage d’un nouveau vilain. Le loup s’\u00e9tait jusqu’alors d\u00e9guis\u00e9 en m\u00e8re-grand, et nous autres, pauvres petits chaperons rouges pas assez regroup\u00e9s autour du chaperon rouge-en-chef, qui allions nous y laisser prendre. Le loup s’est montr\u00e9 \u00e0 visage d\u00e9couvert. Vade retro, Satanas<\/em>, nous avons l’Iran \u00e0 attaquer.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Voil\u00e0 l’argument principal d’un des columnists<\/em> attitr\u00e9 du Times<\/em>, Gerard Baker, pr\u00e9sent\u00e9 dans ses fonctions comme \u00ab\u00a0US Editor<\/em>\u00ab\u00a0, — ce qui doit signifier : Editor<\/em> d\u00e9l\u00e9gu\u00e9 par les USA, non? Non finalement, car Baker est, comme on ne le dit pas assez, \u00ab\u00a0plus am\u00e9ricaniste que les am\u00e9ricanistes\u00a0\u00bb.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Mais nous allons nous concentrer sur un aspect du billet de Baker, en date de cette Saint-Valentin<\/a> d’hier. C’est son interpr\u00e9tation principale qui nous int\u00e9resse, qui concerne les petits chaperons rouges (europ\u00e9ens) regroup\u00e9s certes autour du chaperon rouge-en-chef, mais pas encore assez au goût de Baker.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n (Cette \u00ab\u00a0interpr\u00e9tation principale\u00a0\u00bb est r\u00e9sum\u00e9e par ce passage qui est l’entame du texte de Baker, avec la remarque soulign\u00e9e en gras par nous, tr\u00e8s \u00e9tonnante lorsqu’on sait que Poutine n’a exclusivement et explicitement parl\u00e9 que des USA dans la partie du discours qui nous importe, — comme si l’attaque \u00e9tait contre les Europ\u00e9ens autant que contre les USA, ou comme si dire \u00ab\u00a0les USA\u00a0\u00bb, c’\u00e9tait dire \u00ab\u00a0les USA et l’Europe\u00a0\u00bb, — bref, comme si l’Europe \u00e9tait apr\u00e8s tout une partie des USA… : « On Saturday President Putin delivered the most aggressive verbal assault on the US<\/em> and its European allies<\/em><\/strong> that a Russian leader has uttered since the Cold War ended 16 years ago.<\/em>»)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Les extraits ci-dessous sont choisis parce qu’ils concernent le v\u00e9ritable message de Baker, c’est-\u00e0-dire le message des USA : Europ\u00e9ens, regagnez la demeure commune, made in USA<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n «…US officials noted pointedly that it was Europeans, including some leaders of the eastern European countries that used to live under the Russian heel, who were present at the weekend conference, who were most angered by Moscow’s new tone. German government officials were privately furious with the Russian leader’s remarks.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n »Coming as it did on German soil, just minutes after Chancellor Merkel had given a warm diplomatic overview of transatlantic relations, Mr Putin’s speech was considered a breach of the normal diplomatic protocols. It was more than discourteous, however. The Munich conference, the most important annual transatlantic security policy forum, originated in the darkest days of the Cold War.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n »Chancellor Merkel, who lived under Soviet domination of eastern Europe as an East German citizen in the 1980s, is under no illusions about the political instincts of Mr Putin, the former KGB agent. But she and her aides had not imagined that the Russian leader would deliver such a blunt attack in the midst of her efforts to improve relations among European countries and were puzzled by the tone. US officials believe the speech was intended to represent Russia as a muscular new power in the world, after its long decline and humiliation since Cold War days. Bolstered by increased energy prices in the past five years, a continuing healthy economic expansion and signs that its old adversary in Washington has run into serious global trouble, the Russian leadership seems eager to show that it is back as an actor on the world stage.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n »The sudden apparent deterioration in US-Russian relations, especially with a man of whom President Bush has spoken so warmly, did not seem to alarm Americans, however.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n »The Munich event has been dominated for the past few years by transatlantic splits as the US found itself under attack from its old allies over the war in Iraq. Throughout that time, Donald Rumsfeld, the former defence secretary, played the role of principal villain at the conference.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\n