Cold War On Terrorism
by digby
Uhm, I know we're in a Global War On Everything and all but when did this become an issue again?
Bush Reiterates: Russia Not an Enemy
President Bush on Wednesday discounted Vladimir Putin's threat to retarget missiles on Europe, saying "Russia's not going to attack Europe."
Bush, in an interview with The Associated Press and other reporters, said no U.S. military response was required after Putin warned that Russia would take steps in response to a U.S. missile shield that would be deployed in Poland and the Czech Republic.
"Russia is not an enemy," Bush said, seeking not to inflame a heated exchange of rhetoric between Washington and Moscow. "There needs to be no military response because we're not at war with Russia. ... Russia is not a threat. Nor is the missile defense we're proposing a threat to Russia."
I'm glad he cleared that up. After all, Bush saw into Pootie-Poot's soul and proclaimed him a good man and that's good enough for me. He is obviously a brilliant judge of character who has quite rightly based his entire administration on his personal impressions of others. It's worked out very well.
But still, what caused this friendly little misunderstanding between two very good men in the first place?
While North Korea topped Bush's talks with Abe, the president's plan to deploy an anti-missile radar system in the Czech Republic and 10 interceptor missiles in Poland is likely to be a key topic in Bush's meeting Thursday with Putin.
Asked if he anticipated a tense encounter, Bush replied "Could be. I don't think so ... I'll work to see that it's not a tense meeting."
Putin has accused the U.S. of starting a new arms race and said if the U.S. pressed ahead with its plan, Russia would revert to targeting its missiles on Europe as it did during the Cold War. China joined Russia in saying the missile defense plan could touch off a new escalation in nuclear weapons.
The move to put the missile defense shield in former Warsaw Pact nations -- purportedly as a defense against a future missile launch from Iran -- clearly fanned Putin's anger.
Oh sweet Jesus, these Republicans are stupid.
Can you concieve of anything more counter-productive than saying you are going to erect a missile shield that doesn't work, but which is nonetheless guaranteed to create more anti-Americanism among enemies and allies alike? And how generous of Junior to place it in Europe so his pal, the increasingly megalomaniacal Pootie Poot, has the tools he needs to churn up some good old-fashioned America bashing for his own purposes. Brilliant!
But then, Condi is a Russia scholar, right? Between Bush's gut and her brain, maybe we really can go back to those halcyon years when Ronnie Reagan was beating down the Soviets with his bare hands. GWOT meet CWOT.
Update: More good news, if you haven't heard.
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