The United States may be moving the missile shield in Europe to Turkey, Israel, or the Balkans. It’s no surprise that the shield might be moved given the serious opposition Russia has voiced. Since the beginning Russia saw this as an opportunity for the United States to insure that Russia’s military power would be suppressed. In reality the shield always has been first and foremost to protect the US and Europe from attacks from rogue nations such as Iran. However I will not deny that the US probably liked the idea of also being able to stop an attack from Russia. The original plan was to house ten interceptor missiles in Poland with a control and radar station located in the Czech Republic. However Russia has seriously opposed such a plan since it is so close to their borders. Additionally Russia felt that it would alleviate any checks and balances to the power system because the US would no longer be able to be held accountable by anyone in Europe.
The hope is that this missile shield will be functional in 2013 so that it would be ready to protect against further developments from nations such as Iran.
Do you believe it is the right move to concede to Russia’s wishes about the missile shield? Is this good diplomacy or are we rolling over and sending a message of weakness? It is my personal opinion that this was a wise move since we really should not be creating any more enemies at this point. As long as we still house the shield somewhere in Europe, it should be able to accomplish the same effect.
