WARSAW — Signing a missile-defense deal with its good friend the United States has earned Poland nothing less than the threat of nuclear attack from Russia — a threat that might not sound so empty these days, given Moscow’s bloody battle with Georgia.
That conflict has plunged Europe into serious crisis, sending waves of jitters through [...]

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I like this article. Pat Buchanan is pointing out the obvious, but America can’t seem to see clearly.
Poland wants to charge us billions for permission to site a missile defense base on Polish soil. This is to defend Poland and other European countries, mind you. Are the Polish nuts?
Polls show that Europe is no [...]

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Russia may send military aircraft back to bases in Cuba in response to U.S. plans to deploy elements of a missile defense system in Europe, Izvestiya reported, citing an unidentified “highly placed source.”
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Russia’s military is ready to “neutralise” any threat to its nuclear deterrent from US missile defence sites in Europe, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Kislyak said Monday, according to Interfax news agency. “If we see the development of systems that could reduce our deterrent potential, our military will have to take steps to neutralise the threat,” [...]

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The U.S. believes the Iranian story that they tested a new Shihab-3 missile with a range of 2,000 kilometers. The Israeli version is that the Iranians tested an older version with a range 1,300 kilometers.
From the article:
A leading Israeli analyst, however, asserted that the Shihab-3 launched on Wednesday was an older model with a range [...]

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Russia’s angry response to an accord between Washington and Prague on building part of a U.S. missile defence shield in the Czech Republic is reminiscent of the rhetoric of the Cold War. Although Russian President Dmitry Medvedev says Moscow still wants talks on the missile shield, his Foreign Ministry has threatened a “military-technical” response if [...]

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Russia’s angry response to U.S. plans to build a missile shield underlines the need for Europe to seek closer security ties with the United States, a top aide to Polish President Lech Kaczynski said on Wednesday.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said in Japan on Wednesday that Moscow was very upset after Washington signed a deal with [...]

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Poland is balking at further negotiations with the United States over plans to deploy an anti-ballistic missile shield, prompting Washington to seek out Lithuania, formerly part of the Soviet Union, as a possible location for the interceptors, officials said Wednesday.
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‘Anxiety’ in Moscow over US-Lithuania missile base talks Financial Times
US talks missile defense with Vilnius [...]

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The U.S.-proposed European missile shield will eventually spread along Russia’s borders and may neutralize Russia’s nuclear potential by 2012-2015, a Russian political analyst said on Wednesday.
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Gates took on Ma’s claims that China wants only to defend itself with intercontinental ballistic missiles and is focused on defensive systems.
“I don’t know what you use them for if it’s not for offensive capabilities,” Gates told reporters Sunday. While that kind of system might be considered a deterrent for other countries, Gates said it [...]

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But look today at Europe’s political leadership: Nicolas Sarkozy in France has replaced the bitterly anti-American Jacques Chirac. In Germany, Angela Merkel has replaced the dyspeptic and anti-Iraq war Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. Prime Minister Gordon Brown in Britain now once again speaks about the US-UK “special relationship.” And now, Berlusconi will soon return to the [...]

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Lockheed Martin has announced that it has achieved a major integrated test milestone on the first Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS) geosynchronous orbit (GEO-1) spacecraft that enables the start of environmental testing in preparation for launch in late 2009. The GEO-1 satellite, designed to provide new missile detection and surveillance capabilities for the nation, has completed [...]

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Well, “Nanny” President Bush traveled to Europe recently to try and persuade our security-dependent allies and erstwhile strategic partner Russia to swallow bitter medicine — an anti-ballistic missile (ABM) system. His spoon full of sugar included an offer of aid, promises and a new “strategic framework.” Now, however, the lame duck president needs to magically [...]

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Russian President Vladimir Putin today warned that he sees NATO expansion up to his border as a “direct threat” but struck a friendly tone toward the West as he rejected the notion of a second Cold War.
“The appearance of a powerful military bloc along our borders would be taken in Russia as a direct threat [...]

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NATO fails to sway Russia on US missile plan
International Herald Tribune, France - 5 hours ago
The US plan would install a radar base in the Czech Republic and 10 interceptor missiles in Poland. Underscoring the continuing tensions, two Russian …
Russia not satisfied with US missile shield proposals AFP
Russia Rejects New US Offer on Missile Defense at NATO [...]

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Washington, D.C. (AHN) - The United States and Japan are signing new defensive agreements and evolving their military alliance to defend against new threats.
Commander of U.S. Forces Japan, Air Force Lt. Gen. Bruce A. Wright, says the shift will move from traditional warfare to the defense against a missile attack from neighbors like North Korea [...]

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But above all, when it comes to international matters the right tends to trust the ‘active’ U.S. rather than the ‘passive’ EU. The right also resents Western European governments for acknowledging Russian concerns.
Many have recognised that the radar in the Czech Republic could monitor movements of troops in much of Russia and that the base [...]

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The present debate isn’t really about missile defense, but about Europe and Russia’s relationship with the United States.
The loud Kremlin protests against Washington’s plans for missile defense are effective because they are aimed at the anti- American fault line that divides Europe. When Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld spoke about an “old” and a “new” [...]

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TOKYO - It’s not the fictional Super X project, designed to defend Tokyo, in the Godzilla movie series. It’s a real project designed to shield Japan - the capital first and other parts of the country later - from a real threat.
Amid skyrocketing concerns about neighboring North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs, Japan has recently [...]

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MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia accused the United States on Wednesday of using Cold War-style methods to persuade European allies to host an anti-missile shield on their soil.
Washington plans to install elements of the shield in Europe as part of a scheme it says is designed to protect from missile attacks by rogue states. Moscow [...]

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Russia knows perfectly well that the batteries are no threat to its nuclear forces. The system is a symbol of Russia’s loss of status. In 2002, Moscow viewed Washington’s decision to pull out of the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty with deep regret. This was not because Russia perceived a serious threat to its security, but because [...]

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