Last September 17, the United States announced its decision to forego the installation of a ballistic missile defense (BMD) system in Poland and the Czech Republic. In its place, the US will provide ‘some protection to Europe using U.S. Navy ships based on either the North or Mediterranean seas.’ This implies that ‘protecting Europe is a more pressing concern than protecting the United States.’ Poland and the Czech Republic felt they were betrayed by the US.
Russia, on the other hand, was expectedly satisfied with the US decision, especially because it has long been against this particular installation. As a reward to the US decision, Russia ‘tentatively announced the cancellation of plans to deploy short-range ballistic missiles in Kaliningrad, which they previously had planned as a response to the components of the U.S. BMD system planned for Poland and the Czech Republic.’
Poland should have realized that the planned BMD system will do nothing to Polish national security as the ‘long-range interceptors in Poland were positioned there to protect the continental United States; missiles falling on Poland would likely be outside the engagement envelope of the original Ground-based Midcourse Defense interceptors.’ The system was actually designed to handle the missiles that may be coming from the Middle East.
Neither would the Poland land-based missiles be a threat to Russia. ‘Placing the system on ships is no less threatening than placing them on land.’ They could be equally upset with missiles on US ships, if indeed they were. The mindset behind all these is nothing more than a post-Cold War posturing. The US is no longer obsessed with Russia as it is with Iran now. The only role that Russia is playing in the US-Iran struggle is the fact that it is Russia that is ‘blocking a solution to Iran because Russian and American interests have profoundly diverged. What is emerging from Iran is the issue of Russia.’
