Putin praised U.S. air strikes as "giving them what they deserved"
By Harlan Pryce ·
For years, a private Kremlin exchange remained hidden in which Vladimir Putin cheered U.S. air strikes as deserved retribution and called Georgian authorities "idiots and chickens."
Sunday morning, June 4, 2000. A sitting room in the Kremlin. Bill Clinton and Vladimir Putin are alone, conducting a "one-on-one" conversation that precedes a formal plenary session on security issues. This was a meeting intended to clear the air on matters Clinton noted he would "just as soon not get into in the larger group."
While the previous night had been characterized by a cordial and friendly tone, the morning shift brought a sharper edge. According to the file's catalogue entry, which summarizes the notes taken by Strobe Talbott, the conversation quickly pivoted toward a series of "uncomfortable questions." Clinton pushed Putin on the internal state of Russia, specifically targeting the "problem of Chechnya, the problem of your political development, of your free press, of religious freedom."
"Idiots and Chickens"
Clinton’s concerns were not merely theoretical. The record indicates that the U.S. President explicitly mentioned reports of civilians killed in Chechnya and a systemic lack of proper investigations into military crimes. He further raised the possibility of Russian military involvement in Georgia. These were not just diplomatic talking points; Clinton framed these issues as liabilities that would create friction in U.S.-Russian relations and cast a shadow over the upcoming G-8 meeting in Okinawa.
Putin’s initial response was a tactical concession: "I feel some agreement with you." However, the catalogue entry records that this agreement was brief, followed by a swift pushback. Putin countered by reminding Clinton of a previous meeting in New Zealand, where Clinton had expressed doubt regarding Russia's military capacity to expel Chechen terrorists from Dagestan. Putin described the memory of that doubt as "vivid and painful," emphasizing that the military operation had been successful.
While Putin acknowledged that a purely military solution to the conflict was impossible, he refused to accept Clinton's framing of the crisis. Instead, he characterized the situation in Chechnya as one of "terrorism and banditry." He extended this contempt to the neighbors of the conflict, describing the Georgian authorities as "idiots and chickens" for their failure to manage the Chechen presence on their own territory.
Document imagery from nsarchive.gwu.edu From the files: nsarchive.gwu.edu
Force as Retribution
As the conversation progressed, the catalogue entry describes a shift in Putin's demeanor. After a "passionate effort" to define the Chechen conflict on his own terms, Putin transitioned into open flattery. He told Clinton that he had followed his career for years, describing him as a "powerful, effective political actor of the world stage." He told the American president, "I listen to what you say and I heed you."
This praise served as a bridge to a more candid discussion on the nature of power and military force. According to the archival description, Putin offered a warning before sharing a private thought: "I’ll never repeat something I’ll tell you now. If you quote me, I’ll deny it."
Putin then addressed U.S. air strikes. He admitted that his personal reaction to the strikes was, "Way to go!"
Crucially, Putin clarified that his approval was not based on a belief in the strategic efficacy of the bombing. He told Clinton he did not think the U.S. was going to "bomb those people into negotiating." Rather, his approval stemmed from a more visceral sense of justice: he felt the U.S. was "giving them what they deserved."
The Sunday Session
This glimpse into the 2000 meeting provides a snapshot of a leader in transition. Public records establish that Vladimir Putin, a former intelligence officer, had assumed the presidency in 2000, serving until 2008 before returning to the office in 2012. The sitting room conversation shows a man comfortable with the duality of diplomacy—offering flattery to a world leader while privately expressing a preference for retributive force.
While this specific interaction is preserved in the Talbott notes, other facets of the era's diplomacy remain obscured. The National Security Archive holds other related documents from this period, including records of the CIA’s 2007 case logs and various State Department records on the travels of William J. Clinton, though those files do not necessarily overlap with the specific dialogue of the June 4 session.
There remains one significant gap in the record of this conversation. When Putin exclaimed "Way to go!" regarding the air strikes, the note-taker, Strobe Talbott, inserted a point of confusion. Talbott noted that it was "not clear from context" which specific operation Putin was praising. He questioned whether Putin was referring to the strikes in Iraq following the anti-Bush plot, or the strikes against the UBL camp in Afghanistan. The record leaves this ambiguity unresolved.