Cold War rhetoric ratchets up over missile defenses and tests

Editor’s Note – On May 3rd, most of the media, including SUA reported on the escalation of Russian rhetoric regarding our missile defense systems, planned and placed. They actually threatened preemptive strikes. Just another in a long line of foreign policy and diplomatic failures.

To reiterate:

Russia said Thursday its dispute with the United States over missile defence was near a “dead end” and warned it might have to deploy new rockets in Europe to take out elements of the controversial shield.

“We have not been able to find mutually-acceptable solutions at this point and the situation is practically at a dead end,” Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov told a televised conference on missile defence issues.

As this transpires, the US plans to conduct tests – smacks of old Cold War style diplomacy. Just when Obama promised a “reset” of US/Russia relations as a 2008 campaign pledge, it now appears he was a bit too trusting, and certainly naive. The “hot mic” episode where he talked of ‘flexibility’ to Dmitri Medvedev, was apparently lost on the resurgent Putin.

US to conduct ‘largest ever’ missile defense test – Pentagon

From Space Daily

The US plans to conduct ‘the largest ever test launch’ of its missile defense program elements to intercept and destroy five ‘enemy’ missiles- three medium-range ballistic missiles and two cruise missiles, the director of the Pentagon’s Missile Defense Agency Gen. Patrick O’Reilly told Congress on Wednesday.

It is planned to use several surface-to-air guided missile air defense systems, including Patrior, TAAD and Idjis.

The US has been working with other NATO countries to locate such defense systems in the Asia-Pacific region and in the Middle East.

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