The Missile Game

Decades after the so-called “Cold War Era” had perceived to be ended; right about the time when the former U.S.S.R. was dissolved by Perestroika and Glasnost, here we are again hearing some kind of buzz about arms build-up from America and then from Russia, with U.S. President Barack Obama starting it all with an announcement of a missile defense system aimed at shielding Europe, purportedly from Russia and its close allies.

Isn’t this some kind of a nuclear déjà vu?

What comes to mind immediately is the almost mythical but flimsy “Star Wars” shield program or otherwise known as Strategic Defense Initiative of former U.S. President Ronald Reagan, a hollywoodish grand ambition of networking the skies with military satellites, those that could supposedly anticipate and neutralize any major nuclear strike against America.

Of course Russia immediately felt threatened by the Obama missile defense plan in Europe that it almost automatically announced that it would likewise be deploying Iskander missiles in Poland, in order to counter what it perceived to be as an apparent threat to its security.

President Obama had to cancel the missile defense plan so that Russia would backed-off from the missile deployment in Poland. Now, that’s more like it. Tensions would have gone high and relations between the two nuclear giants would have deteriorated to a great extent.

All’s well that ends well.

Yet, I could deeply infer on the whole situation as there could be more profane motives other than what we see on the surface of this issue. The fact that it was planned at all—- the Europe missile defense plan should be a high indication that volatility within that region is still high. Such plan could have probably been instigated and resultant of incisive intelligence data gathered or why else would America put it up over there if Russia is as lame as we all thought it to be at present—- harmless like a sheep. Just when we all thought that Russia was not an enemy but a friend of America, it’s coming up as if it is becoming a monster once again, threatening to gobble up Europe. For wealth or power—- we exactly could not know.

Or maybe President Obama just wanted to play the role of grand old American presidents of years past, talking big in terms of missiles and nuclear warheads, ala Reagan or Nixon. Could he be so inclined in opening old wounds with Russia?

America voted for him because the population there had gotten so turned-off by former President George W. Bush’s perceived warmongering in Iraq and elsewhere. Why would he be so careless in instigating an arms race—- that’s the least the world needs right now.

We hope President Obama chooses so well and very deliberately the international actions that he makes; and he shouldn’t be playing missile games.