In a world where, ironically, the protection from nuclear missiles evokes the same type of response that the mere existence of atomic weapons once did, and to a large extent still does; there are only so many hits last year's proposal for regional missile defense in Europe can take before it is overwhelmed. And no, that's not a joke about the limited deterrence factor of the system-I know you're all still boiled over with laughter. But I digress. In a misguided plan that once relied on the apparent strength of bilateral relations between the United States, the Czechs and the Poles, even those governments have balked and requested more and more freebies from the U.S. government as their domestic criticism mounts. Even the European Union Parliament was getting into the act over the summer, taking the oh-so politically risky stance of signing a petition against further militarism.
As we all know by now, Russia simply isn't happy with the system and our proposal. Forget that we would be using two former Warsaw Pact states to host missile defense, Russia was willing to give China anti-anti-missile technology in the late 1990s in response to President Bill Clinton's attempt at missile defense. Moscow has, however, been open to cooperation. After the Japanese hosted The G-8 Summit this summer, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev repeatedly spoke of a desire to cooperate with the United States. on missile defense, and this call came after a proposal from now-Prime Minister Vladimir Putin for the United States to use a Russian radar installation in Azerbaijan instead of the proposed base in the Czech Republic as a component of the plan. Then there was the 2008 NATO Summit in Bucharest, which seemed to alleviate some Russian fears and make the project more cooperative amongst NATO members; this was followed by a face-to-face meeting between President George W. Bush and Putin in which further Russian concerns were discussed and dissipated. Russia knows this latest incarnation of missile defense is not a threat to their deterrents, and they know that it's not targeted at them. What they fear is a gradual build up of projects like this in their former territories and close to areas of regional influence-in much the same way that NATO member countries have been slowly creeping to their doorstep, and we all know how Russia has reacted to that.
The problem is not missile shield, per se, but the lack of cooperation that has permeated the process. That, and the report this weekend by The New York Times that corruption has plagued the project as government officials have taken their cut of lucrative multi-million dollar defense contracts. This is deplorable behavior that will serve only to increase pressure on a project that is already perceived as hyper-aggressive and wrong. What we're missing is an understanding that the missile shield, if it is to go forward, must be used as a vehicle for shoring up the relationship with Russia.
There are two easy answers to this position. First, one missile shield is wrong, and second, isn't international cooperation dead in the wake of the Georgian crisis and the global economic situation? After all, one might think to themselves, isn't the European Union divided over how to solve their financial crisis and aren't the United States and Russia not talking after the war in Georgia? No, no and no.
First, the missile shield may be the latest act fed by militarism, but what harm does it really do? This is not President Ronald Reagan's Star Wars, and it's not Clinton's National Missile Defense. It is a system designed to handle maybe one or two low to medium ranged missiles fired from a state like Iran. That may assume bad things about Iran, but we already have a similar system in place along our Pacific coast to defend against North Korea that has not raised similar concern.
But most importantly are the answers to the second and third query. International cooperation is strong, despite what might appear to be the case on first glance. The EU? Wasn't France and Germany ignoring other member states in order to solve their own problems? Hardly the case, and over the weekend the EU policy mechanisms worked as they have worked before to ensure a continued confidence in the euro and the economies of all countries tied to it. There is even coordination with non-euro country the United Kingdom, so that a safe and stable re-capitalization of funds can occur to hold off further market weakness.
With Russia, it is space exploration that is keeping relations alive-assuming all other facets of the relationship have gone out the window. Sunday's launch of the latest Russian space mission carries with it an American game designer who will become the next space tourist. It is through this story that we remember the lessons of Roald Sagdeev-former director of the Soviet Space Research Institute-who has, with his wife (President Dwight Eisenhower's granddaughter, Susan), taught us that if with nothing else, technology will bring the United States and Russia together.
It is a shame that individual graft and greed will most likely destroy the prospects for missile defense. As misguided as the initial proposals, as ignorant as the Bush administration seemed in seeking acceptance for its policies, there was still the hope that something-no matter how small-could be salvaged in order to re-conceptualize the relationship with Russia from one of an enemy to one of a partner. However, even with the failure of this component of the relationship, the existence of international cooperation is far, far from over despite the grave challenges we currently face.
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