Polish missile defense redux

ARTICLE: Poland to Deploy U.S. Missiles Near Russia, By JUDY DEMPSEY, New York Times, January 21, 2010

While I understand this as part of Obama's slimmed-down missile defense plan, this announcement does come off as oddly backward looking: Why should putting missiles in Poland be a national security priority at this point in history?

Then there's the queer underlying logic: We expect either Iran or Russia to threaten Poland with missiles in coming years? The Iran argument is just weird (Over what exactly?), and with Russia, it's hard to see that any pressure would come in that manner, given all the other tools at hand.

So, in the end, this just comes off as a PR show sure to trigger an equally doofus reply from the Russians ("Look at our ships in your neighborhood! Are you not afraid?"), replete with Biden's gushy declarations of America's willingness to do whatever it takes to keep Poland safe--as if that's a big global concern right now ("2010: the year Poland's fate hung in the balance!").

When history judges this administration's course and comes up with the criticism of "incoherent," this will certainly seem to qualify as an example ("Team Obama made a bold move in early 2010 when it stuck defensive interceptor missiles in Poland, erasing what had been a growing global fear of missile wars in Eastern Europe.")

Comments

[Ray Kimball]

Doc - you've got it wrong, although I'll admit Dempsey's obtuse writing doesn't help. The missiles inquestion are Patriots, which are not part of the new MD plan (though they do have a nominal interceptcapability for SRBMs.) This is actually the fulfillment of a bilateral cooperation pledge made during thelast Administration.

http://en.rian.ru/world/20080826/116286981.html

[David Sutton]

"2010: the year Poland's fate hung in the balance!"

HA! Oh Tom that's why even in manic essay writing mode I like to take ten minutes out from trying to figure out the increased linkage between religion and terror to stop by the blog.

Its those off the cuff witticisms that I your writing, the talks, the blog , the whole damn shabang!

Now back to work, but feeling a bit better, and smiling