“I Looked The Man In The Eye. I Was Able To Get A Sense Of His Soul”
And what I saw is making me yelp and roll over like the frightened little puppy I am
PRAGUE – President Barack Obama phoned the Czech prime minister to discuss a controversial missile defense system, a spokesman said Thursday, and Czech media reported that Obama told the premier he will shelve the plan that has so angered Russia.
…There have been signs that Obama’s administration is preparing to shelve many of the components of the missile shield proposed by the Bush administration, which called for 10 interceptor missiles in Poland and a radar system in the Czech Republic.
The Bush administration had said the missile shield was a strategic way to counter a threat from Iran or another rogue state in the Middle East, but Russia was deeply angered by the prospect of having U.S. interceptor rockets in countries so close to its territory.
…Alexei Arbatov, head of the Russian Academy of Science’s Center for International Security, told a Moscow radio station Thursday that the U.S. was giving in on missile defense to get more cooperation from Russia on Iran.
“The United States is reckoning that by rejecting the missile-defense system or putting it off to the far future, Russia will be inclined together with the United States to take a harder line on sanctions against Iran,” he said.
Ah, the old “harder line” bit…like Putin indicated just 5 days ago he was so in favor of
NOVO-OGARYOVO, Russia — Russia’s prime minister warned Friday against using force or new sanctions against Iran for its defiance over its nuclear program, saying Moscow has no evidence that Tehran is seeking nuclear arms.
…Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said, however, that Moscow has “no grounds to doubt” Iran’s claim that its nuclear program is purely peaceful, his spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Putin said, according to Peskov, that “any use of force, delivering any kind of strike, won’t help, won’t solve the problem. On the contrary, it will hurt the entire region. As for sanctions, they won’t bring the desired effect.”
…Russia, which is building a nuclear power plant in Iran, has made similar comments in the past, and has repeatedly warned against any attack on Iran.
But Putin’s remarks Friday could disappoint U.S. and Israeli officials, who have urged the Kremlin to put more pressure on Iran.
So…we are bailing on promises made to one of the strongest, most democratic allies we have in eastern Europe as a concession to an autocratically-inclined former head of state who still seems to be pulling an awful lot of strings in his KGB-esque trained way to get him to do something he’s said time and again he has not the slightest inclination to do? This is the ‘newer and smarter diplomacy’ we’ve been promised? Throwing Poland and the Czech Republic under the Slavic Bus?
A decision to scrap the plan would have future consequences for U.S. relations with eastern Europe.
Jan Vidim, a lawmaker with Czech Republic’s conservative Civic Democratic Party — which supported the missile defense plan — said it’s “hard to imagine how unfair” it would be for Obama to cancel at this stage.
“If the administration approaches us in the future with any request, I would be strongly against it,” he said.
How’s that “rebuilding the US’s image around the world” stuff going?
Military Thingies, Politics, World Stuff | Mr. Bingley | 
September 17, 2009 7:12 am
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[…] created a well-deserved media splash, including the interview I heard on national public radio. “I Looked The Man In The Eye. I Was Able To Get A Sense Of His Soul” – coalitionoftheswilling.net 09/17/2009 And what I saw is making me yelp and roll over like […]
Yeah, we’re screwed. Ozero’s never met a thug he didn’t like, and Putin is a thug’s thug.
How thoughtful of the Precedent to give all those Hondurans company in the “we just jonesed you” club.
Expect the Soviet, er, ummmmmm, Russian sphere of influence to increase soon.
Hmmm, maybe Putin knows a Russian built nuclear plant is penalty enough.
My mother-in-law has a Polish live-in woman. Need I tell you how pissed off she is at us right now?
And I blame her not at all, Gary.