Obama Scraps Missile Defense in Eastern Europe

President Barack Obama has announced that he is scrapping plans to construct a missile defense system in Eastern Europe against Iranian missile attack. This decision has elicited wide spread outrage and accusations of appeasement.

In his announcement, Obama claimed that the latest intelligence indicated that Iran's development of an intercontinental ballistic missile was proceeding slower than hitherto thought. President Obama also said the instead of the missile defense system started under the previous administration of George W. Bush, he would deploy Aegis sea based ballistic missile defense ships to be followed by land based Patriot missiles to defend against short and intermediate range missiles from Iran.

Many foreign policy and defense experts dispute President Obama's assertion that Iran's development of an ICBM had slowed. Former UN Ambassador John Bolton, among others, has suggested that the intelligence is, at best, uncertain. Iran recently launched its first satellite into low Earth orbit, a sign that they are near to ICBM capability/

The decision to scrap missile defense in Eastern Europe will be hard to reverse if the intelligence is proven wrong. Obama has lost the trust of the leaders and people of the region by taking this decision unilaterally.

President Obama's pontification about "smart power" would seem to be a fig leaf to cover up the real reason for the decision to scrap missile defense in Eastern Europe. That reason is to appease Vladimir Putin, the leader of Russia, who has been unrelentingly hostile to building a missile defense system in Eastern Europe, which he regards as his sphere of influence.

Unfortunately, as the Obama administration admits, there has not been a solid quid pro quo from the Russians for the scrapping of missile defense in Eastern Europe. The Obama administration hopes that Russia will now be more forthcoming on the subject of sanctions against Iran. Russia has made no such promises.

The decision by the Obama administration to scrap missile defense in Eastern Europe has had the unfortunate effect of alienating and frightening US allies. The Czechs certainly know what it is like to be stabbed in the back by big powers. The Czechs remember the Munich agreement in 1938 and "peace in our time."

The Obama announcement to scrap missile defense in Eastern Europe was also unfortunate in that it took place on the 70^th anniversary of the Soviet invasion of Poland in 1939. While was Poland was reeling from a Nazi invasion from the west, it was stabbed in the back from the east.

Israel cannot be happy by this show of weakness toward Russia and Iran. Israel, probably more than any other nation in the world, knows the consequences of appeasing tyrants. Putin may not be a Hitler, but he is a tyrant and has imperial ambitions for Russia. He has already invaded one neighbor, Georgia. Besides Poland and the Czech Republic, the Ukraine must now be assessing the danger of having Barack Obama as an ally.

Some commentators have called Barack Obama's scrapping of missile defense in Eastern Europe "Jimmy Carter on steroids", recalling some of the similar decisions taken by President Carter that wound up emboldening the Soviet Union. It may be far worse than that. It could be the 21^st Century's version of Munich. The Russians have no reason to think that President Obama will stand up to them. The Iranians must be filled with glee, seeing the hand of Allah in their unexpected good fortune.

Sources: U.S. Changes Course on Eastern European Nuclear Missile Shield, Peter Speigel, Wall Street Journal, September 17th, 2009

Analysis: Barack Obama's missile shield decision will be cheered in Russia, Andrew Osborn, Telegraph, September 17th, 2009

'Pre-emptive capitulation', Rich Lowry, National Review, September 17th, 2009