Obama Pulls Missile Defense System From Poland and Czech Republic
Way to abandon our allies, Mr. President.
President Barack Obama has decided to scrap plans for a U.S. missile defense shield in the Czech Republic and Poland that had deeply angered Russia, the Czech prime minister confirmed Thursday.
NATO’s new chief hailed the move as “a positive step” and a Russian analyst said Obama’s decision will increase the chances that Russia will cooperate more closely with the United States in the dispute over Iran’s nuclear program.
Premier Jan Fischer told reporters that Obama phoned him overnight to say that “his government is pulling out of plans to build a missile defense radar on Czech territory.”
“The same happened with Poland. Poland was informed in the same way about this intention,” Fischer said.
Putin has to be laughing his ass off.
Did we even get anything for doing this?
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on September 17, 2009 at 0656 hrs
Seriously, was there ever any doubt that he’d do this? Sometimes I think he’s more concerned about not offending other countries than the security of our allies, judging by this and his attitude towards Israel.
Posted by Billiam on September 17, 2009 at 0708 hrs
While I don’t like that we’re leaving our allies / friends out in the cold… I’m glad to see we’re taking a step back from protecting the rest of the world. We’re looking to save some money, and with our financial situation and our deficit spending, I think it’s a small step in the right direction.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on September 17, 2009 at 0806 hrs
Calm doew. I mean its not that biig of a deal. You’re all acting like Iran is building a nuke and a missile delivery system that could hit Europe or something.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on September 17, 2009 at 0903 hrs
No. We are merely acting as if Iran can build a missile to hit Europe and that Europe should be responsible for the consequences of that and not the USA.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on September 17, 2009 at 1023 hrs
I’m completely with BVB. Let the Europeans pay for their own defense.
Plus, this isn’t 1975, fer crying out loud. The idea that Putin’s Soviets/Russians are some great existential threat and that they’re going to come pouring through the Fulda Gap or launch missiles attacks against Europe is pretty damned farfetched.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on September 17, 2009 at 1038 hrs
Yeah - it would be nice if the EU would start ponying up some cash for us to protect them while they bash us for being imperialists.
If it ain’t 1975, why was Putin going so ape-shit over us helping Poland and the Czechs? I wonder what Russia’s ulterior motives are here…
Anyone really believe they will help with Iran? Really?
Israel is going to go it alone and then it will get very interesting…..
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on September 17, 2009 at 1122 hrs
How can we be “abandoning our allies” when the head of NATO gives the move a thumbs up?
Are we still in NATO?
Posted by JB on September 17, 2009 at 1612 hrs
How many billions of your tax dollars went towards this concept of knocking a missile out of the sky with a laser or another missile since Reagan mentioned Star Wars? Pentagon: $26 billion . . . in Clinton’s time.
Beginning with Reagan’s Star Wars system, the Russians (and China) (and us) immediately began building anti-missile countermeasures. Innovation continues.
The possibility of taking out a airborne missile is still poor, needless to say knocking down a full Russian launch is impossible.
Iran’s missiles are incapable of reaching us and they are aimed at the Saud Arabia’s oil fields (Robert Baer, The Devil We Know: Dealing with the New Iranian Superpower).
Why are we spending billions on allies for this when we have enough issues at home? Our taxes could be reduced or spent better than pumping up General Dynamics and Boeing stock.
The Russian war machine was decrepit before, during, and after the collapse of communism. Due to their rising crude production and the threat of putting in this shield on their borders, they began reinvesting again in the nuke missile sophistication (Thankfully their subs are still junk). We were freaked when Soviet missiles were going to Cuba, why keep irking them?
A nuke hit in the air, (Helen Caldicott, The New Nuclear Danger) releases plutonium that spreads into the atmosphere creating a cancer causing blanket. Given the two choices, I’d rather be vaporized.
Revelations, Armageddon, dystopian, Omega Man scenarios need not be further encouraged.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on September 17, 2009 at 1858 hrs
“The possibility of taking out a airborne missile is still poor”
If that was even remotely true, the Russians would be more than willing to let us spend money on a worthless system, and not on something else.Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on September 17, 2009 at 1926 hrs
You guys have a very poor view of our allies.
If your friend is getting beat up by a bully - do you just stand there and watch?
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on September 18, 2009 at 0559 hrs
Bill - I agree with you until I found out that the Chzec and Polish people were protesting against us for even suggesting doing the missile sheild.
Personally - I’d pull all of our troops out of all of Europe. We have been protecting them for decades at our own expense and all we get is indignant protests about it and declarations of how much better they are because they care more about their citizens than we do with all their social programs. Screw it. Let them have to pay for their own defense for a while.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on September 18, 2009 at 0607 hrs
In Obama we got the clueless, foreigner and appeaser that his pre-election opposition (not McCain of course) said he was.
Posted by Iron Brigade Warrior on September 18, 2009 at 0715 hrs
neomon - did you see the headlines in the Polish newspapers today?
They didn’t see very happy about it to me.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on September 18, 2009 at 1636 hrs
I did not see those… I just heard on the radio (granted it was a CNN feed) interviews with Czech folks that were happy about it.
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on September 18, 2009 at 1655 hrs
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