Russians Still Crying Over Anti-Missile Shield
A senior Russian lawmaker called Saturday for Russia to be included in US plans to build a missile defence system in Europe, warning Moscow will otherwise view the antimissile shield as a threat.
"Russia has every reason to be interested in close cooperation in creating Eurasian missile-defense systems," Konstantin Kosachev, chairman of the foreign affairs committee of the State Duma, wrote in an opinion piece in the International Herald Tribune.
"And any attempt to build them without Russia (which is not only an interested party but also geographically and technically the most suitable place for an effective antimissile defense) automatically means they are being built against Russia," wrote the lawmaker.
Russia has repeatedly criticised the United States' plans to place missile defence equipment in countries that were once part of Moscow's orbit.
The United States has asked the Czech Republic to host a radar system and Poland to host interceptor rockets as part of its missile defence plans.
Washington insists the anti-missile shield is intended as protection against attacks from "rogue states" such as Iran and points out that the proposed system would be useless against Russia's vast weapons arsenal.
Kosachev argued building an antimissile shield without Russia wouldn't be effective and counterproductive as Moscow would view it as a threat.
These people are crying like an ugly teenage girl who didn't get invited to a party. I don't see the need for Russia to be included in the plans. If they don't have an anti-missile shield, that's their problem. Maybe they should spend less time selling weapons to our enemies and more time developing systems of their own. I think this is a ploy to gain intelligence on the shield and learn ways to counter it. Poland and The Czech Republic are being rewarded for aiding us in the War on Terror.
