ÿþ<html> <head> <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1"> <title>OnlineColumnist®.com: Putin Punishes Georgia</title> <meta name="generator" content="Adobe GoLive 4"> <style type="text/css"> .style2 { font-size: large; font-weight: bold; font-family: Arial; } .style3 { height: 69px; } .MsoNormal {} h1 {margin-bottom:.0001pt; page-break-after:avoid; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; font-weight:normal; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; } .style4 { font-size: x-large; font-weight: bold; } .style5 { font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: .0001pt; } </style> </head> <body bgcolor="white" vlink="black"> <center> <table cool width="624" height="2719" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" gridx="16" showgridx gridy="16" showgridy> <tr height="79"> <td width="133" height="118" rowspan="2" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0"><a href="aboutdiscobolos.html"><img height="110" width="62" src="images/discobolos.logo.transp.gif" border="0"></a></td> <td width="7" height="118" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="482" height="79" colspan="2" valign="top" align="left" xpos="140"><img height="75" width="450" src="images/banner.GIF"></td> <td width="1" height="118" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="1" height="79"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="79"></td> </tr> <tr height="39"> <td width="182" height="39"></td> <td width="300" height="39" valign="top" align="left" xpos="322"><a href="aboutdiscobolos.html"><img height="14" width="267" src="images/divisionofNEW.GIF" border="0"></a></td> <td width="1" height="39"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="39"></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="624" colspan="6" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0" class="style3"> <table border="0" width="100%" bgcolor="black" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td> <table border="0" width="100%" bgcolor="#99ffcc" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="4"> <tr> <td align="center"> <div align="left"> <a href="index.html"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong> HOME</strong></font></a><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong> &#8226; <a href="articlesindex.html">ARTICLES</a> &#8226; <a href="books.html">BOOKS</a> &#8226; <a href="teflon.html"> THE </a><a href="teflon.html">TEFLON</a><a href="teflon.html"> REPORT</a> &#8226; <a href="mailto:letters@onlinecolumnist.com"> REACTIONS</a> &#8226; <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html">ABOUT DISCOBOLOS</a></strong></font></div> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> <tr height="2"> <td width="133" height="2">&nbsp;</td> <td width="489" height="2576" colspan="3" rowspan="2" align="left" xpos="133" content valign="top" csheight="2573"> <p class="style2">Barack&#39;s Missile Defense</p> <p><b><font face="Arial,Geneva,Helvetica">by John M. Curtis</font></b><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><b><a href="books.html"><br> </a></b></font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><b> (310) 204-8700</b></font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><i>Copyright March 4, 2009<br>All Rights Reserved. </i></font>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <span class="style4">&nbsp;S</span>ignaling a reversal in Bush foreign policy, President Barack Obama switched gears, appearing more flexible on missile defense plans in Eastern Europe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> Months before Bush left office, he cut deals with Boeing Aerospace, Poland and the Czech Republic to install radar and missile defense interceptors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Bush s 2008 decision sent U.S-Russian relations plummeting to new post-Cold War lows, prompting threats from Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Bush insisted that missile defense was needed to combat growing Iranian missile threats to Europe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>While the U.N. works to restrain Iran s uranium enrichment program, no European country expressed comparable fears about imminent Iranian missile threats.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Obama correctly read the folly of trying to restrain Iran s growing nuclear threat while, simultaneously, antagonizing Russia on the U.N. Security Council.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Iran has moved full-steam ahead on enriching uranium despite three rounds of U.N. sanctions and constant threats from the U.S. and Israel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Iran s firebrand President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has rejected U.S. attempts to halt its fledgling nuclear enrichment program.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Bush s insistence on East European missile defense assured that Russian would not fully support U.S. efforts to retrain Irans fissile program.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Russia has partnered on nuclear technology, especially building Iran s multibillion dollar heavy-water Bushehr plutonium nuclear reactor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>While both compete with each other trading energy, they partner in their desire to restrain growing American influence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Backing off missile defense offers the chance of opening up strategic cooperation on a host of unrelated issues, including Russian meddling in the Western hemisphere.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Calling off missile defense opens the door to improved dialogue.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton expressed frustration with U.S. overtures to Iran, citing Ahmadinejad s insistence on enriching uranium.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Michael Mullen raised eyebrows on Sunday morning talk shows voicing concerns that Iran had enough fissile material for an A-bomb.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Speaking on another show, Defense Secretary Robert Gates qualified Mullen s remarks, suggesting that Iran was still months, if not years, away from a workable nuclear device.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Those concerns were heard in Jerusalem where incoming Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu engaged in contingency planning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> Netanyahu has repeatedly warned on the campaign stump that Israel would not tolerate a nuclear-armed Iran.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> Barack knows that making some concessions to Russia on missile defense could help the U.S. nonproliferation work with Tehran.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Obama correctly read Russia s concerns about Bush s plan to install missile defense systems in Poland and Czech Republic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Russian President Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin warned Bush that such plans would have real consequences, hinting at possible Russian military action.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Recent correspondence between Obama and Medvedev suggest greater flexibility on part of the White House in exchange for help with the Iranian nuclear threat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Medvedev denied any deal and said there was  no talk about some kind of trade-off, or quid pro quo. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>While speaking at a news Madrid news conference with Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, Medvedev insisted there was no deal with Obama.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> No, issues haven t been put that way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>It would be unproductive, said Medvedev, acknowledging a constructive exchange of ideas with the new American president.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Russia has no intention of letting missile defense become a bargaining chip when it comes to Iran s fissile program.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Voting three times for sanctions on the U.N. Security Council, Russia has expressed its desire for Iran to cooperate of its enrichment program but has no plans of threatening Tehran.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Barack rightly sees the linkage between missile defense and Russian cooperation in the Iranian standoff.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Even with Medvedev s help, it s doubtful that Tehran would abandon its fissile program.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Iran realized, like Pakistan, that nothing creates more respect that possessing nuclear weapons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Obama and Medvedev both know that when Netanyahu comes to power, it s going to be difficult for the U.S. to restrain Israel from acting in its own self-defense.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Showing flexibility on missile defense demonstrates that the White House is committed to improving U.S.-Russian relations. </p> <p class="style5" style="tab-stops: center 3.0in right 6.0in"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>U.S. reliance on Russia for help with Tehran shows that the White House is running out of options.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>State Department overtures to Tehran have gone nowhere, with Ahmadinejad rejecting U.S. attempts to restrain its nuclear enrichment program.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Ahamdinejad has called the U.S. a  bullying power for trying to stop Tehran s nuclear activities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Ahamadinejad shows no insight into how his Holocaust denial and threats against Israel has left the U.S. opposed to any of Tehran s nuclear activities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> If Tehran would stop pandering to extremists and threatening Israel, they wouldn t face sanctions in the U.N. Security Council.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Whether admitted to or not, there s little the U.N. or any country can do to restrain a technologically advanced country from completing the nuclear fuel cycle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Whatever happens with Tehran, the U.S. should do its best to find common ground with Russia.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analysing spin in national and global news.&nbsp; He&#39;s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of <a href="books.html"><i>Dodging</i> <i>The Bullet</i> </a>and <i> <a href="books.html">Operation Charisma</a>.</i></p> </td> <td width="1" height="2576" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="1" height="2"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="2"></td> </tr> <tr height="2574"> <td width="133" height="2574" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0"><img height="172" width="111" src="images/johninframe3.jpg"></td> <td width="1" height="2574"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="2574"></td> </tr> <tr height="1" cntrlrow> <td width="133" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="133" height="1"></td> <td width="7" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="7" height="1"></td> <td width="182" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="182" height="1"></td> <td width="300" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="300" height="1"></td> <td width="1" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="1"></td> <td width="1" height="1"></td> </tr> </table> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="2" width="597"> <tr> <td><font size="1" face="Arial,Geneva,Helvetica"> <hr noshade size="1"> </font><a href="index.html"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong> Home</strong></font></a><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong> || <a href="articlesindex.html">Articles</a> || <a href="books.html">Books</a> || <a href="teflon.html">The Teflon Report</a> || <a href="mailto:letters@onlinecolumnist.com"> Reactions</a> || <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html">About Discobolos</a></strong></font> <div align="left"> <p><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular">This site designed, developed and hosted by the experts at</font><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"> <a href="http://www.cmeonline.net" target="_blank"><img height="30" width="138" src="images/cmelogoANIM.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle"></a></font></p> </div> <p><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular">©1999-2005 <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html"> Discobolos Consulting Services, Inc.</a><br> (310) 204-8300<br> All Rights Reserved. </font></td> </tr> </table> </center> </body> </html>