Missile Defense | Hope is Not a Foreign Policy

Posts Tagged ‘Missile Defense’

Saturday, August 30th, 2008 at 2:37pm

Georgia Severs Diplomatic Ties with Moscow

Posted by Tom Skypek in Russia

Yesterday, the government in Tbilisi announced that it cut diplomatic ties with Russia to protest the continued presence of Russian troops in Georgian territory. The situation in Eurasia is not improving. Russia’s decision to recognize the “independence” of South Ossetia and Abkhazia was particularly problematic since these two regions are part of Georgia.

This week, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev escalated his rhetoric. Commenting on U.S. plans to install missile interceptors and command and control nodes in Poland and the Czech Republic, Medvedev threatened to use military force: “This will create additional tension and we will have to respond to it in some way, naturally using military means.” Medvedev’s comments…

1 Comment Tags: Dmitry Medvedev, Georgia, Missile Defense, Russia

Wednesday, August 20th, 2008 at 3:06pm

More Belligerent Rhetoric from the Kremlin

Posted by Tom Skypek in American Foreign Policy, Russia, The American Presidency

Moscow keeps upping the ante. Today, the Kremlin announced that it is willing to use means other than diplomacy to respond to further development of the U.S. missile defense system in Poland. According to the Associated Press,

Russia lashed out at the United States on Wednesday over a missile defense deal with Poland and warned ominously that Moscow’s response to further development of the missile shield would go beyond diplomacy.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry said the U.S. missile shield plans are clearly aimed at weakening Russia, calling them part of growing “U.S. efforts to change the strategic balance of power in its favor.”

Russia’s invasion of Georgia and its increasingly belligerent rhetoric highlight the challenge the next president will face in…

No Comments Tags: Barack Obama, Dmitry Medvedev, Hillary Clinton, John McCain, Missile Defense, Vladimir Putin

Friday, July 11th, 2008 at 2:15am

The Iran Problem

Posted by Tom Skypek in Iran, Nuclear Proliferation

Dealing with Iran will be a major foreign policy challenge for the next administration. And as Sen. Clinton stated repeatedly throughout the Democratic primary, the United States needs a president who can lead on day one. Iran’s latest series of missile tests only reaffirms the need for the United States to emplace missile interceptors in Europe. The successful shoot down of a falling satellite earlier this year by the Department of Defense validated the missile defense system, which is still wrongfully derided by critics.

It is unclear what the Iranian leadership believes it gains by conducting these provocative tests and continuing to propagate belligerent rhetoric. It is probably an effort to bolster its deterrence posture. Unfortunately, Iran only increases the risk of…

4 Comments Tags: Iran, Missile Defense, Shahab-3