Russia To Target Europe With Nuclear Weapons

The dispute between Russia and the U.S. continues to heat up. Russian President Vladamir Putin has now stated that Europe will once again be targeted by Russia's nuclear weapons.

This situation is worse than the previous Cold War years, because the current Russian government is so unpredictable. The Bush administration is also unpredictable and lacks the diplomatic skill that previous Administrations have had to get through these kinds of disagreements. The U.S. has already pulled out of several agreements, such as the ABM Treaty. Russia is now threatening to pull out of another Treaty involving Europe- The Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty or CFE, because the Western countries have refused to ratify the agreement.

Russia is upset about U.S. plans to put an anti-missile shield in Poland and the Czech Republic. U.S. officials claim that the system is needed to protect Europe from a missile threat from Iran. However, it is not clear that such a threat even exists. It is extremely unlikely that Iran would attack Europe unprovoked. Iran knows that such a move would mean war with NATO, something that it could not survive. Furthermore, Iran has no motive to attack Europe.

This missile shield is a veil for one of two things.

#1. It is quite possible....even likely, that the U.S. wants this missile shield in place because it plans some future military action against Iran. Perhaps some European nations are aware of U.S. intentions to attack Iran and they want a little insurance against any counter-attack. But again... if they are not involved in such a U.S. attack, an Iranian attack against Europe would be unlikely. The people of Europe are not in favor of the proposed system. Hopefully they will begin to make their voices heard. The governments of Poland and the Czech Republic want to be on the good side of the U.S. and are much more concerned with pleasing the White House than operating in the best interests of their people or of Europe.

Even if Iran did pose a threat to Europe, placing the missile shield in Poland and the Czech Republic does not appear logical (if that argument were in fact genuine). If you look at this map, you can see that the proposed missile shield to defend against Iran makes no sense. Poland & the Czech Republic would not be ideal locations for a missile shield. A better location might be the Mediterranean Sea, with a naval (ship based) system, which the U.S. already has. Such a system could be deployed unannounced and could avoid the kind of diplomatic damage that the U.S. is currently causing.

#2. A more likely reason for the missile shield is to gain a strategic advantage over Russia, long after the "Cold War" was supposed to be over. The missile shield is clearly being pushed by neo-conservatives in the Bush White House....men who are Hell-bent on resurrecting the "Duck and Cover" culture of fear. This would fatten the pockets of their allies in the defense industry, among other motives. The shield is clearly aimed at Russia. There is no other logical explanation for such a system.

It appears that Bush & Co. incompetence is boiling over on several fronts, quickly endangering International security. It is time for Peace Groups, Activists, and independent diplomats to weigh in and take action on this issue, as well as others. Bush & Co. is setting America back decades in terms of its relations with the rest of the world, and is making the country and the world less safe, not more safe.

The Peace Community has been silent for far too long....feeling defeated (at least partially so) after losing the battle to prevent the War in Iraq. But it is now time for the Peace Community to help reverse this situation. I warned the Peace Community in 1999 that we would see this day, where the U.S. has disrupted the strategic balance of the planet, made us less safe and created new arms races, would be in Iraq, etc. I warned that a Bush Presidency would be a disaster for Peace and Security in the world. But not even I could have predicted that it would be this bad. At the time (1999) I was concerned with Bill Clintons attack against Yugoslavia, but warned about Bush as well.

It is no longer enough for Peace groups to march on Washington, etc... That wastes a lot of resources....although it does serve a purpose. But Bush & Co. pays no attention to these kinds of events, and the media often does not cover such stories....or covers them marginally or with a negative slant. That is why Peace organizations must form their own media infrastructure, their own political action groups (even political Parties), put forth their own candidates for office, and get more involved in the actual workings of the political system, so that Peace advocates can have the leverage necessary to make a difference.

It is time for Peace groups to engage in citizen diplomacy to prevent a resumption of the Cold War. The incompetence of the Bush administration is putting us in more danger than terrorists ever will. Americans & citizens of Europe should make their voices heard about the proposed missile shield, which threatens European security & stability.
Write members of Congress and encourage the Peace Community to take action to prevent yet another U.S. foreign policy blunder.