There were many inside the Beltway during the 90's who thought that it was America's right and obligation to teach the rest of the world how to live. That unofficial order of new crusaders had its Grandmaster– William Jefferson Clinton – or just Bill to friends.

Other notable figures of that era – Madeleine Allbright, Bill Cohen, Richard Holbrooke, Strobe Talbott – might have had different approaches, but they all had one not-so-charming habit in common: telling other peoples and countries what to do and how to do it.

National pride hurt? Complex relations affected? Never mind, remember who won the Cold War after all?

Alexander Vershbow was a junior member of the administration at the time – but no less earnest.

The man, who has spent most of his adult life dealing first with the Soviet Union and then Russia, finally landing in the very first days of the Bush administration in Spaso House, the residence of the US ambassadors to Russia, is a walking PR disaster.

The US media likes to blame the economic hardships of the 90's and purported position of the Russian leadership for the rise of anti-Americanism in Russia in recent years.

Who needs enemies when you have friends like Mr. Vershbow.

Vershbow spent 4 years in Russia and left a lasting impression proving every urban myth about Yankee Cowboys there is – and more.

One day, he was accusing basically all of the Russian recoding industry of aiding copyright piracy – including the very people who were in charge of fighting it.

The next, he was advising the Russians how to fight domestic corruption.

Whatever happened in Russia – Vershbow was always there to comment. A typical one? “…high hopes when the Berlin Wall came down have not been realized…”

Whose's hopes, Ambassador?

The peak of his activities was likely reached in 2003 just before the invasion of Iraq began under the pretext of the WMD search.

Russia was dead opposed to attacking the UN member country without much of a reason. Vershbow invited journalists to his Moscow residence to tell them that Russia would live to regret its stance.

The exact words were “The American people will not understand Russia's position against the invasion of Iraq”.

Something tells us the American people feel exactly the opposite after six and half years of brutal war.

But back to the man.

By 2005, Vershbow's efforts of introducing Russians to crassness were rewarded – the man was shipped out of his swanky Moscow residence.

One can only guess at the State Department's logic in sending a career Sovietologist like Vershbow to become the US Ambassador to South Korea.

Unsurprisingly, it did not take this master of tactlessness long to start exploring the limits of tolerance of his new hosts.

Whatever the school of diplomacy you adhere to, you typically don't call anybody a “criminal regime” – the words Ambassador Vershbow chose to describe the North Korean authorities.

The South Koreans, in the midst of the rapprochement they called the Sunshine Policy, were less then thrilled.

And lets not forget the wave of mass protests against U.S. beef imports that rocked the country last year.
“The arrogance of Americans has crossed the line”

"The negative public sentiment against the U.S. government will definitely intensify, given the people's outrage and behavior, if the U.S. government refuses to accept the demand for renegotiation," those were the words of the protesters. Nobody in the US understood what those Koreans were so up in arms about.

High-handedness and lack of cultural sensitivity, perhaps?

So, when Ambassador Vershbow announced that he would be retiring from the diplomatic service at the end of 2008, few were shedding tears.

But the man re-appeared.. meet Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Alexander Vershbow.

This is a key post, entrusting its holder amongst other things with “the coordination of U.S. security and defense policies relating to the nations and international organizations of Europe, the Middle East and Africa.”

The man's chief claim to fame in his new role so far? The statement that Washington has added Ukraine to a list of possible early warning sites for a newly re-designed ballistic missile defense system.

Even pro-Western Ukrainian Foreign Minister Petro Poroshenko had to quickly say that deploying a new anti-missile system in Ukraine would be "unconstitutional."

This week. Vershbow goes to Tbilisi, Georgia for talks. I say: expect a new round of embarrassing statements.

P.S. When Alexander Vershbow reads this – which he undoubtedly will, that's what press departments are for – he should remember himself lamenting that many in Russia do not understand that the White House does not tell the Washington Post what to write. Indeed, it does not.

Neither does the Kremlin tells me what to write. These thoughts about you, Ambassador, are mine and mine alone.