Russia Threatens Military Action

The Bush administration is still trying to push the "missle defense shield" Bush wants to place in Europe. Bush claims it is to protect Europe from Iranian missles. On Tuesday, Condi Rice signed a deal with the Czech Republic to put part of the defense shield in that country. Another part is to be placed in Poland.

But Russia is not buying Bush's argument. They have told him in the past that they would consider putting this missle shield near their border to be a provacation. They believe the system is aimed at them instead of Iran.

It's easy to see why the Russians would be upset. If the shield was really aimed at Iran, then it would only make sense that it's placement should be in southern Europe. Placing it in Poland and the Czech Republic makes no sense to defend against Iran. However, it would be perfectly placed to defend against Russia.

Add to this the fact that Bush is well-known for lying. The Russians know he lied to the United Nations to get a mandate for military action against Iraq. They believe he is lying now about the defense shield, and they believe this would upset the delicate balance of power in the region.

Russia was very upset at the agreement signed Tuesday with the Czech Republic. Because of it, they upped their rhetoric and for the first time threatened military action. Their foreign ministry said, "If a US strategic anti-missile shield starts to be deployed near our borders, we will be forced to react not in a diplomatic fashion but with military-technical means."

It is not known exactly what they meant by that statement. It could mean they would redeploy their own missles on the border, or it could mean military action against Poland or the Czech Republic or both.

It is time for Bush to stop playing this deadly game. It is senseless to provoke Russia unnecessarily, especially since our own forces are so depleted from fighting an unecessary war against Iraq.

The missle shield should be moved to a more appropriate location, or abandoned altogether.

Putin Says Missle Defense Like "Cuban Crises"

In 1962, the world was on the edge of nuclear war. Russia had placed nuclear missles in Cuba, and the United States demanded they be removed. President Kennedy put a naval blockade on Cuba, and as Russian ships neared the blockade, the world teetered on the brink of World War III. It was the closest we have come to all-out war in the nuclear age.

Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed. An agreement was reached where Russia removed its missles from Cuba, and the U.S. removed its missles from Turkey. Now it looks like Bush is trying to create the same kind of crises.

Bush doesn't see it that way, but neither did Khrushchev when he put the missles in Cuba. The important thing is that is how Putin sees it. Bush putting a missle defense system in eastern Europe is viewed by Putin to be as dangerous to Russia as the missles in Cuba were to the U.S.

It is easy to see why he would view it that way. A missle defense system in eastern Europe could render Russia's missles useless, while still leaving them vulnerable to missles from the United States. That would upset the balance of "mutually assured destruction" and force Russia to take action to prevent it (just as Kennedy was forced to take action in 1962).

The path Bush is taking could once again bring America and Russia to the brink of war, possibly even a nuclear war. The scary part is that Bush doesn't seem to see the danger. He still thinks he can talk Putin into accepting the system. He is wrong.

Putin will never allow Russia to be put in such a compromised position. Fortunately, Putin seems to still want to be on good terms with the United States, and has given Bush two ways to defuse the coming crises. He can either not build the system, or he can build it in conjunction with Russia so that both parties will have the system.

Both of these solutions would maintain the delicate balance between the two countries, and avert the crises. Now we must wait and see if Bush is smart enough to realize this and make the right choice.

Unfortunately, he has not shown this much intelligence in the past.

Is Bush Trying To Pick A Fight With Putin ?

I really don't understand what Bush is trying to do with his idea of putting a missle-defense shield in Poland and the Czech Republic. It's almost like he's trying to pick a fight with Putin and Russia.

Does it bother him that the Cold War is over? Is he trying to bring it back? I know he says the shield is to protect against Iranian missles, but Iran doesn't have a missle that can reach Europe and is unlikely to have one anytime soon. Besides, if it was really for protection against Iran, then wouldn't it make more sense to put it in southern Europe closer to Iran?

I don't blame the Russians for being upset. By placing the shield in northern Europe on Russia's border, it certainly looks like Bush is aiming his action at Russia. Russia doesn't trust us fully yet, just as we don't fully trust them. From their viewpoint, their only protection against an attack from the West is their ability to retaliate with missles of their own.

But a missle-defense shield could take away their ability to retaliate, and open them up to a first-strike from the West. It is easy to see why they would be nervous about Bush's proposal. After all, Bush has shown with his attack on Iraq that he is willing to declare war without a reason to do so.

With this proposal, it looks as though Bush is trying to engage in brinkmanship politics (like JFK during the missle crises in Cuba). That's scary, because Bush is not half as smart as JFK. He'll screw it up like he has with all his other endeavors, and wind up leaving the world a more dangerous place for everyone.

Can't we impeach this fool before he starts another cold (or hot) war?