Word: russia
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...proposed missile shield will not only encourage overly militaristic behavior in the Pentagon, but it will also seriously damage our already-tenuous relationship with the Russian Federation. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia has had a rocky relationship with its former Warsaw Pact allies, especially Poland. Moreover, Moscow has viewed the continued expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization alliance into Central and Eastern Europe as evidence of growing American hegemony...
...economic collapse of the entire region. And the Russian leadership is highly aware of the stakes at hand. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has accused the US of initiating “a new round of arms race,” and Russian President Dimitri Medvedev has warned that Russia is “not afraid of… a Cold War.” Hopefully Medvedev’s threat relies more on bravado than truth, but this assumption is not a risk worth taking. As the recent South Ossetian conflict indicates, Russia is willing to use force...
...move also threatens our new alliances with Poland and the Czech Republic, two of our strongest backers in the NATO organization. Moreover, the majority of Poles and Czechs oppose the plan, which would needlessly put them at risk of armed conflict with Russia. Last year, President Medvedev announced that Russia would be relocating several SS-26 “Iskander” missiles to Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia’s small exclave of territory on the Baltic coast that borders NATO members Poland and Lithuania. While these plans have been temporarily put on hold, the Russian threat should be taken...
...Indeed, the worst possible scenario emerging out of this diplomatic fracas is a joint Russo-Iranian alliance against the United States. Energy-rich Russia and Iran have struck a friendship of sorts. In 2000, then-President Putin abrogated the 1995 Gore-Chernomyrdin agreement and renewed arms dealings between Russia and Iran. Since then, Putin has signed a $1 billion arms deal with Iran and supported Iran’s nuclear ambitions. During Putin’s 2007 visit to Tehran, the first trip to the Iranian capital by a Kremlin leader since Joseph Stalin’s visit...
...current policy is deceptively vague. Secretary of State Hillary R. Clinton has strongly hinted that the Obama administration will reconsider the European missile defense program. Still, no firm decision has been made, and by doing this we please nobody and alienate all sides of the issue: the European Union, Russia, and Iran...