Russian President Vladimir Putin has lodged his criticism days before taking off for the G8 Summit in Germany, stating that the missile shield plans would "increase the possibiliy of unleashing a nuclear conflict". He added that the United States was "forcing a reaction from Moscow". On Tuesday, Russia tested an intercontinental missile which they claimed could penetrate any missile shield that was in place.
The United States is currently seeking to put parts of this system in place in the Czech Republic and Poland and these moves have been perceived in Russia as threatening. These countries, former Soviet satellites, are quite literally in Russia's backyard. Meetings between Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice and her Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov have failed to diffuse much of the tension surrounding the issue.
This latest version of the 'missile shield' is the same 'Star Wars' crap from the Reagan Administration in the 80's. Test after test have not proven the system to be that accurate or effective. In addition, it is estimated that costs for this system range from 800 billion dollars up to about 1.2 trillion dollars. It is incredible that a country can spend this much money on one defense system, yet on the domestic front, the grand 'rebuilding of the Gulf Coast' after Hurricane Katrina almost two years ago has not happened.
Although I know that many in this current Administration are relics of the old Cold War, would it not be enlightening to move forward in this new century rather than revisit the ghosts of the past one?
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