Obama Caves on Central Europe Missile Defense Deals
Just what we’d suspected would happen. President Barack Obama told Russia, in writing, that the U.S. would cancel plans to build missile defense shields in Poland and the Czech Republic if Russia helps the U.S. prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. (RIA Novosti)
Agreements to build the missile defense shields in Central Europe were negotiated and signed last year. Russia reportedly considered the missile bases a threat and said it would deploy its own missiles to Kaliningrad in retaliation. Last week, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Russia would not place missiles in Kaliningrad, no doubt sensing Obama’s reluctance to follow through with agreements our country made while President Bush was in office.
RIA Novosti reports that Russia has not responded to Obama’s appeal for appeasement, although the president and Medvedev have spoken on several occasions before the proposal. The two men will have a chance to talk in person on April 2 at the G20 summit.
If Obama believes reneging on our deals with Poland and the Czech Republic will satisfy Russia, he’s mistaken. Backing down will embolden Russia to ask for and expect concessions in other areas. Russia may help the U.S. keep tabs on Iran, but any agreement we make won’t be worth the paper it’s written on if Russia sells Iran weapons, which it did as recent as last year.
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said that Iran was “not close to a stockpile, they’re not close to a weapon at this point, and so there is some time.”
Tags: Barack Obama, Czech Republic, Dmitry Medvedev, Iran, Poland, Russia