Geopolitical Journey: The Search for Belonging and Ballistic Missile Defense in Romania
During the Cold War, Romania confused all of us. Long after brutality in other communist countries declined, Romania remained a state that employed levels of violence best compared to North Korea today. Nicolae Ceausescu, referred to by admirers as the Genius of the Carpathians, ruled Romania with a ruthless irrationality. Government policies left the country cold and dark, and everyday items readily available just a few kilometers south in Bulgaria were rarities in Romania. At the same time -- and this was the paradox -- Romania was hostile and uncooperative with the Soviets. Bucharest refused to submit to Moscow, and this did not compute for many of us. Resistance to Soviet power, in our minds, meant liberalization, like what we saw in Hungary and Czechoslovakia. But not in Romania; Romania played a different game. READ MORE
China Steps Up Rhetoric against U.S. Missile Defense
Chinese officials are becoming increasingly vocal about U.S. ballistic missile defense (BMD) developments in the Asia-Pacific region as well as the newly elevated U.S. security profile in their region resulting from the U.S. “rebalancing” toward the Asia-Pacific region. READ MORE
Goldilocks Missile Defense
The current trajectory of U.S. missile defense will not make the nation safer. In fact, it may waste money on flawed technology while promoting further escalation. READ MORE
India’s Prospects in the Area of Ballistic Missile Defense: A Regional Security Perspective
«‘In 2012, the unequal relationship between India and Pakistan is spinning sharply out of control. Terrorists attack the Indian parliament and kill two ministers and 12 MPs. There is no doubt that Pakistan had a hand in this, and in a month India goes to war. Pakistan threatens to use nuclear weapons if India does not stop the invasion. Indian troops close in on Lahore, and Pakistan launches Ghauri missiles with nuclear warheads aimed at Delhi... A long-range radar for missile defense detects the Ghauri missiles 30 seconds after their launch. Five minutes later... the missile defense system launches interceptor missiles. Four Pakistani Ghauri missiles explode in the sky and fall harmlessly to the ground in pieces... The city of Delhi is saved. India carries out a nuclear counterattack that, in the words of one military officer, ‘will put an end to Pakistan once and for all.’ Science fiction? Not entirely.» READ MORE
Polish Missile Defense Plan Puts Poland First
In an August 6, 2012 interview in the Polish weekly Wprost, President Bronislaw Komorowski stated that Poland is prepared to create its own anti-aircraft and missile defense system as part of a NATO shield. While some saw the statement as a rejection of U.S. President Barack Obama’s proposed missile defense system, others viewed it as a sign of Poland’s weakening military alliance with the United States. Both arguments are misleading. READ MORE
Russia Elevates Warning About U.S. Missile-Defense Plan in Europe
Russia will deploy its own missiles and could withdraw from the New Start nuclear arms reduction treaty if the United States moves forward with its plans for a missile-defense system in Europe, President Dmitri A. Medvedev warned on Wednesday. READ MORE
The balance of threats
The proposed placement of U.S. missile defense base in Europe has been a thorn in the reset of relations. From the Russia point of view, there has been a distinct lack of progress in achieving agreement on missile defense plans, between Russia on one hand and United States and NATO on the other. The last round of negotiations in Brussels raised questions about the prospects for achieving a mutually acceptable agreement on this pressing topic. READ MORE
Russian President Medvedev Sees New Arms Race If Cooperation Fails
In a state-of-the-nation speech Tuesday that dwelled on overcoming the persistent weaknesses sapping Russia, President Dmitry Medvedev suggested that failure to reach agreement on missile defense cooperation in Europe could set off a new arms race in the decade ahead. READ MORE
NATO Needs a Missile Defense
To most people in Europe, the threat of missile attack is rarely on their radar. Of those who do think about it, some wonder about the cost; or about whether there really is a threat; or about whether missile defense actually works. READ MORE
Russia's Foreign and Security Policy: An Update
Recent developments in Russia’s foreign policy reflect the country’s struggle to preserve its status as a “great power” through modernization. Dmitri Trenin of the Moscow Center discussed how the economic crisis, China’s rising power, and Moscow’s relations with its neighbors have affected its foreign and security policy. Carnegie’s Martha Brill Olcott moderated. READ MORE
