Thirty-Three years after President Ronald Reagan announced the Strategic Defense Initiative [SDI] March 13, 1983, the so-called Star Wars missile defense system known as Aegis has been installed in Deveselu, Romania. Plans for installing the Aegis system in Poland and the Baltic States are now underway, prompting an angry but measured response from Russian President Vladimir Putin. Putin huffed-and-puffed trying to stop former Soviet satellites from installing a NATO missile defense shield. White House officials insist that the SDI missile defense shield was designed to intercept attacks from rogue countries like Iran and North Korea. “Now that these anti-missile elements have been installed, we will be forced to consider putting an end to the threats emerging in relation to Russia’s security,” said Putin, promising to install more ballistic missiles aimed at Europe.
Putin didn’t help Russia’s long-range plans invading Crimea March 1, 2014, causing growing worry in the Baltics, former Soviet states or countries like Finland and Poland, under heavy Russian influence. When the White House talks about defending NATO countries against “rogue” states, it’s really talking about Moscow’s more aggressive militaristic posture. When Putin invaded Georgia’s South Ossetia and Abkhazia Aug. 7, 2008, it left former President George W. Bush scrambling to respond. While Bush-43 claimed he had a good relationship with Putin, Obama can’t. Under Obama U.S.-Russian relations have returned to post-Cold War lows, leaving cooperation on global issues more difficult. Obama needs Putin to help resolve the Syrian War, costing more than 250,000 lives, displacing millions more and threatening to destabilize the European Union.
Implementing the Aegis SDI system in Europe has exposed Putin as an intimidator. While threatening this-or-that, Putin did virtually nothing against NATO’s missile defense shield. Putin’s right to question whether or not the purpose of SDI is to contain rogue nations, unless you consider the Russian Federation a rogue state. “All of these are additional steps towards destabilizing the international security system and the start of a new arms race,” said Putin, promising counter-measures. Installing SDI close to the Russian border unnerves Putin because with the Aegis missile interceptors Putin can no longer threaten his neighbors the same way. Reagan had it right when he backed the SDI to protect the U.S. and its NATO allies again incoming missiles. South Korea President Park Geun-hye considered Feb. 8 installing the Aegis to guard against North Korean ballistic missiles.
Once U.S. Defense Minister Ashton Carter offered South Korea the Aegis system, Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping objected, causing Park to balk. Now that SDI has been installed in Southern Romania and starts installation in Poland, Park could change her mind. Putin insists that installing SDI violates the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty signed Dec. 8, 1987 by Reagan and former Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev. Working quickly to implement Aegis missile defense systems threw Putin for a loop. “We will not be involved in this race, we will go our own way, we will work very carefully,” said Putin, admitting he can’t stop deployment of Aegis defense systems in former Soviet states bordering Russia. It’s obvious that deploying Aegis systems at strategic points in Europe isn’t designed to thwart Iranian or North Korean missiles but to stop Putin’s bluster.
Rolling out SDI in Eastern Europe and former Soviet satellites has put Putin on notice that NATO means business defending member states. Seizing Crimea March 1 was a rude awakening for the former Iron Curtain to counter Putin’s recent aggression in Ukraine and elsewhere. While there’s nothing about SDI that’s going to get Putin out of South Ossetia, Abkhazia and Crimea, it draws a line in the sand. Installing new Iskander missiles Kalingrad, neighboring Poland and Lithuania, Putin hopes to show the Kremlin’s determination to challenge NATO. With a 300-mile range, Putin puts most of the Baltics and Poland on notice that NATO can’t stop a Russian missile strike. Putin’s saber-rattling has turned off the European Union and most former Soviet republics. Putin views Star Wars missile defense systems as neutralizing Russia’s strategic intercontinental ballistic missiles
Instead of painting himself into a corner, Putin should consider more diplomacy, including concessions on Ukraine and the Syrian War. While there’s nothing wrong with defending al-Assad, Putin should at least explain to Western officials his reasoning in opposing the Saudi-U.S.-Turkey proxy war wreaking so much havoc in the Middle East. Responding to deploying missile defense in Romania and Poland, Putin expressed the extent of Russia’s threat. “They aren’t defensive systems, they are part of the U.S. strategic nuclear potential deployed on the periphery, in Eastern Europe,” said Putin, ignoring that the missiles deployed are not ICBMs. Deploying SDI missile interceptors don’t qualify as offensive weapons, regardless of Putin’s perception. Putin doesn’t see the linkage between his aggression Georgia and, more recently, in Crimea as NATO’s way to defend member states.
