War of words between Russia, U.S. heats up

The Cold War is over, though given the increasingly heated exchanges of late, it's hard to tell.

 For decades, Moscow and Washington went at it -- diplomatically, militarily, economically, you name it -- until the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union changed the equation.

Yet anyone following officials biting back-and-forth in recent days on what to do in Syria could reasonably surmise the two world powers are at it again. What this means for what unfolds in Syria, for relations between the two nations, and for world politics generally remains to be seen.

Yet a look back at comments since Vladimir Putin returned for a second stint as Russia's president, and particularly as the barbs have grown testy over the past few weeks, suggests the two sides have grown even further apart. 'I don't have a bad personal relationship with Putin' President Barack Obama said as much in August, referring to his relationship with Russia's powerful leader.

 At the same time, he acknowledged, "anti-American" rhetoric has ramped up since Putin returned to the presidency in May 2012. And, Obama added, he'd had "mixed success" trying to get "Putin to think forward, as opposed to backwards" on some issues.

 Things appeared to go differently when Dmitry Medvedev was president. (At that time, Putin had become prime minister after serving his first eight years as president.) Medvedev and Obama scored significant agreements on arms control and letting NATO troops get to Afghanistan through Russia.

 Yet the atmosphere changed noticeably after Putin, a former KGB operative, resumed the top position in Russia's government. There were diplomatic flare-ups on everything from espionage to human rights to the adoption of Russian children.

 One point of strain has, in many ways, the potential to have the biggest global impact: what to do about a civil war in Syria that has left more than 100,000 dead and 2 million refugees, especially given allegations from both sides about chemical weapons use.

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