Word: russiaã
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...concede much through back-room dealing. His argument justifying the move, moreover, has no rational grounds in a post-Cold War Europe. A missile shield in Poland would not endanger Russia in any way. To believe it could, one would have to assume that Russia??€™s safety presently depends on its capacity for nuclear deterrence against a possible strike from a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member or another European state...
...There is little legitimacy to Russia??€™s justification for their behavior. I, for one, did not realize that they faced such a military threat from NATO and the European Union. Moreover, I sincerely doubt the Russians’ suspicion that the defense shield’s stated intention of intercepting missiles coming from the Middle East is simply a pretense to encroach upon their territory...
...reports that Russia??€™s threat of gathering offensive firepower in Kaliningad is highly unrealistic, citing military analysts in Moscow who suggest that Russia??€™s Iskander missiles are currently all deployed on the Georgian border and that the production and installation of missiles in Kaliningrad would take considerable time. Medvedev’s declaration can only be understood as a symbolic challenge to Barack Obama. Polish President Lech Kaczynski didn’t make things any easier when he claimed last week that Obama hoped the shield project would continue and forced him to issue...
...Kacynski’s office has since backtracked, and his remarks seem based on impulse. Obama, however, must not act hastily, and must evaluate the project from a balanced perspective. To reject the shield’s installation simply because of Russia??€™s posturing and a desire to seem diplomatic would appear as a critical sign of weakness to his counterpart in Moscow...
...elect now has a crucial opportunity to emerge strong. Though the shield was a brainchild of the Bush administration, it should not be thrown out with the bathwater. The Russians, meanwhile, need to be called out on their ridiculous gambit. Medvedev cannot realistically be prepared to attack Europe, with Russia??€™s recent economic slide and much of its revenue coming from oil sales to the very countries it now claims it will threaten. Obama will have many chances to improve on the Bush administration’s record in his willingness to use diplomacy instead of resorting...