Posted by
EWRoss on Monday, July 06, 2009 7:00:00 AM
When President Barack Obama
arrives in Moscow Monday for meetings with Russian
President Dmitry Medvedev, he will be under intense pressure to cancel US plans
to build missile defense installations in Poland
and the Czech Republic.
The Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START I)
expires on Dec 5, and Medvedev will hold a new treaty hostage in exchange for
Obama's concessions on missile defense in Europe.
The Democratic left will encourage Obama to make those concessions. They've
been opposed to missile defense from the outset, agreeing with those, including
the Russians, who believe it's destabilizing and undercuts arms control
agreements. But if Obama truly believes it's time to put Cold-War thinking
behind us and face the realities and treats of the future, he won't negotiate
away capabilities the US
needs to defend and deter against Iranian ballistic missiles armed with nuclear
weapons. Unless the US or Israel does something about Iran's nuclear weapons
and missile programs, their far smaller arsenal will be a greater threat to US
national security than Russia's because of the greater likelihood Iran would
use them. How Obama reacts to Russian and
left-wing pressure to abandon missile defense in Europe will tell the
American people and our enemies much about how Obama intends to defend America.