Putin Praises US for Ditching Missile Shield

(NEWSER) - President Obama’s decision to scrap plans for a missile defense shield is a political bombshell, writes Robin Oakley for CNN. America’s allies in Poland and the Czech Republic are left holding the bag after expending significant political capital on the unpopular system. Abandoning it might make their lives easier, but it won’t make them likelier to embrace future US causes. Moscow, meanwhile, must choose whether to tout its victory or embrace the move as a sign of easing relations. More»

Russian premier pushes plan for joint anti-missile defense system in lieu of bases in Poland, Czech Reppublic

(NEWSER) - Vladimir Putin yesterday pushed his proposal for cooperating with the US on a joint missile defense system, part of which would be built on Russian soil, the Washington Post reports. The offer, first broached in Germany last month, was welcomed by President Bush as he and the Russian premier wrapped up two days of talks at the Bush compound in Kennebunkport. More»

'The Cold War is over,' says the president

(NEWSER) - Russia has nothing to fear from a US missile shield in Eastern Europe, President Bush insisted in a speech in the Czech Republic today aimed at smoothing Vladimir Putin's ruffled feathers en route to the G8 summit. The Russian president threatened over the weekend to aim nuclear warheads at Europe in response to the US plan. More»

Strategy deploys more missiles 6 years earlier than under Bush plan

(NEWSER) - The Obama administration is upgrading missile defense plans in Europe, not abandoning them, writes Robert Gates, the author of the Bush-era plans recently scrapped, in a New York Times op-ed. The previous plan would not have installed the proposed 10 long-range interceptors in Central Europe until at least 2017, while the first phase of the new plan will deploy scores of sea-based short- and mid-range SM-3 missiles as early as 2011—sensible, considering short- and mid-range missiles are what Iran has now. More»

Critics charge that Obama may have scrapped missile shield for nothing

(NEWSER) - While Russia's leaders praised President Obama's decision to drop plans for a missile shield in Eastern Europe yesterday, they were conspicuously silent on whether they would, in return, join the West in pressuring Iran to halt its nuclear program, the New York Times reports. If Russia doesn't start taking a harder line against Iran, Obama will be seen as have caved in to Russian demands while receiving little in return. More»