Posted by
Always To The Right on Thursday, August 27, 2009 3:14:10 PM
The Bush administration argued for increasing investment in missile
defense systems to combat two growing threats — Iran and North Korea.
Barack Obama attacked this policy during the presidential campaign, and
has offered to retreat on missile defense in Europe in exchange for
Russian concessions on Iran, among other issues. But Russia’s
opposition to missile defense in Europe doesn’t appear to be matched by
their increasing fear over North Korea’s missile development — and its lousy aim
The Russians have taken a more clear-eyed view of the threat from Kim
Jong-Il, and not just the threat of aggression. These missile launches
usually fail, especially the longer-range rockets, and that creates a
whole new level of threat for North Korea’s neighbors. They want to
knock down anything that goes astray before it hits Russian territory
and lots of Russians — just the concern we should have for our allies
in South Korea and Japan.