All You Need to Know...
...about the short-lived dustup with Putin over missile defense in Europe comes from Austin Bay. As Austin notes, Russia is tied to Western Europe and the U.S. by self-interest:
Despite the sensationalist “Cold War” revival rhetoric, mutual interests bind the US and Russia –and Russia and Europe. The Russian threat to “re-target” missiles and point them at Europe was bluster and threat. That’s right, Mr Putin, threaten to destroy your consumers. Assuming Russia survived its limited war with the US and Europe, its Atlantic-less future would be rather limited: a trans-Ural oil vassal of China might be a better deal than Islamist satrap.***
As I’ve argued many times, the missile defense argument is a charade. Russia needs missile protection – from the east and south. It also needs western allies.
The "standoff" lasted just long enough for a day or two of anti-Bush propaganda by the usual suspects, including the insufferable Zbigniew Brzezinski.
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