U.S. Missile-Defense Plan for Europe

A Colossal Sign Of U.S. Weakness CBS News — President Obama's decision to cancel plans for U.S. missile defense sites in Poland and the Czech Republic is a knife in the back for those countries. The implications for U.S. security and the transatlantic relationship are profound. Critics rightly note that the sudden announcement Thursday sends a dangerous message to allies, both in Europe and elsewhere, who rely on U.S. security guarantees. Even those who agree with the administration's approach concede that the rollout was clumsy--middle of the night phone calls and little prior consultation. In July 2007, Senator Obama criticized his predecessor for this very thing. The Bush administration, he said, had "done a poor job of consulting its NATO allies about the deployment of a missile defense system that has major implications for all of them." click to read complete article

Obama Makes Right Call on Europe Missile Defense Korea Times — President Barack Obama, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and administration associates deserve commendation for making the right call concerning deployment of anti-missile weapons in Europe. The Bush administration plan to place radar and missile installations in the Czech Republic and Poland has been canceled. Instead, the U.S. will rely on a mobile sea-based system, with land-based mobile radars. click to read complete article

Russia, US could deploy joint missile shield against Iran Indian Express — Russia and the US could deploy a joint missile shield to protect Europe from Iranian long-range missiles in future, a former Russian general has said. "Russia and the US could jointly turn to this topic again in the future if Iran gets such a weapon (long-range ballistic missile), but this won't happen until at least 2015," Col Gen (retd) Viktor Yesin said. click to read complete article