“Obama team puts reality before ideology”

By shelving missile shield plans in Europe the Obama administration is dropping the “dreams of absolute security” in favor of reality, believes Dmitry Suslov from the Moscow-based Council on Foreign and Defense Policy.

“This is a sign that the Obama administration is putting ties with reality before the ideological dream of absolute security,” said Suslov.

“The Bush administration missile defense project was supposed to counter the threat posed by Iran’s possession of long-range missiles armed with nuclear weapons – but this threat is nonexistent and is unlikely to appear in the foreseeable future”. So, according to the analyst, this move by the US would mean their recognition of this fact.

“Moreover, the continuation of the Bush policies hampers cooperation and fighting the real threat, which is preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons and preventing Iranian attacks by short and medium-range missiles.”

Suslov also noted that Western Europe was also concerned about the Bush administration’s actions as much as Russia was.

“Indeed, under the current circumstances, with all the threats that the US has now – namely Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Iraq – cooperation with Russia is much more important than being friendly with Eastern European politicians.”