Bush May Have Gotten Nixon’s Message : And a sense of bipartisanship is mobilizing behind the issue of more aid to Russia

The case for increasing American aid to Russia has been made and made again. It is incontestably in U.S. interests to see Russia’s experiment in economic and political reform succeed, because a Russia securely rooted in representative government and market economics is infinitely more likely to be friendly and cooperative than a Russia that has sunk back into the slough of reactionary politics and economic stagnation. On this virtually everyone agrees. Where disagreement comes is over the question of whether a larger American contribution is “affordable.”

President Bush, who little more than a week ago was fretting that he had no blank check to devote to Russian aid, is now apparently reexamining his balance sheet. Prompting him to do so have been Ambassador to Russia Robert S. Strauss and former President Richard M. Nixon, who has criticized the current level of U.S. aid as “pathetically inadequate.” Other voices are also being raised.

Strauss, for example, reports that even such archconservative Republicans as Sens. Jesse Helms and Strom Thurmond support more help to Russia. An increasing number of influential congressional Democrats are similarly urging that the chance to help move Russia along the reform path not be missed.

It’s up to the President, of course, to be the point man for this bipartisan consensus, and the signs now are that he may be ready to take that position. What’s needed is to press for adoption of two aid packages that have already been formally requested. One is a $620-million, two-year program of direct help, including emergency food aid and technical assistance in such areas as banking, food distribution and conversion of military industries to civilian production. The second is to make good on the long-promised $12-billion increase in U.S. deposits in the International Monetary Fund. That money--for loans, not grants--would allow the IMF to help finance President Boris Yeltsin’s economic reform program when, as expected, Russia is admitted to IMF membership next month.

Boosting aid to Russia at a time when many needs are going unmet in America is admittedly a tough political sell. The bipartisanship mobilizing behind this issue should help immeasurably, provided Bush assumes necessary leadership. The real question isn’t whether this relatively modest level of aid is “affordable,” but whether the alternative--a possible collapse of Russia’s reform hopes--is acceptable. Anyone who takes a moment to ponder the inevitable enormous costs to the United States should Russia reassume a posture of surliness and hostility will have no trouble arriving at an answer.