In a recent article we talked about missile defense in Eastern Europe to defend against Iranian missile attacks. We explained, when talking about START, the Russian opposition to such a system.
Quoting a U.S. source, the Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza says: "The U.S. has abandoned plans to install a missile defense system in Europe.”
Several weeks ago when talking about the recent missile defense conference in Huntsville, Alabama we noted that both Raytheon and Boeing are proposing making their missiles, that were going to go into Silos for the defense of Europe, mobile. We suggested that the two companies’ reason was their reading of the political tea leaves.
Each company felt that its system could be fielded in NATO countries for which the U.S. already has a status of forces agreement. However, a mobile system with the range and speed of either the Raytheon Standard Missile 3 (SM-3) or Boeing’s Ground Based Interceptor (GBI) could still be viewed as a threat to Russia’s deterrent.
Some commentators feel that the US is cozying up to the Russians to gain their support on other sticky global issues. Is this a reasonable explanation? Is this type of public policy effective?
The Eastern Europeans are feeling abandoned by the United States. This feeling was compounded when neither the President nor the Vice-President attended the 70th anniversary of the invasion of Poland by Germany on 1 September 2009. The National Security Advisor, General (ret) Jim Jones represented the United States.
The negative reaction in Europe has included statements such as:
· The reason that the Obama administration has decided against building a missile shield to protect Poland and the Czech Republic was Russian opposition. Now, if the US wants to build a defense system for Europe, it'll have to place it in the Balkans, Israel or somewhere else. That is, if Russia approves. This is a stark reversal of past policy and reneges on promises made by the current administration. Worse, it shows weakness.
· The United States got into a staredown with the Russian bear and it blinked. ...
· The US just weakened its standing in a critical region of the world -- Eastern Europe -- and let its allies down. It made them vulnerable, in ways that only the US could, to Russia's growing military menace.
· This diminishes the US’s global influence. What smallish country will now take its word at face value when it promises to protect them?
· Given the threat to millions of American lives -- not to mention millions of allies -- reducing missile defense is both dangerous and irresponsible.
This was summed up by Nile Gardiner, writing in the Telegraph when he wrote:
Together, Washington’s pathetic presence at Tuesday’s ceremony in Poland and its seemingly imminent abandonment of ballistic missile defense in Poland are just another sign of America’s handicapped, inept foreign policy.
All the administration will say is that it is reviewing the situation.
Out of this review needs to come at least a very active diplomatic effort and ideally a military option that placates some of the above concerns.
What do you think?
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