Washington and Moscow are positioning themselves for a drawn out dispute over the United States' missile defense plans, which will impact Central European countries.
Central Europe is watching the American deployment of a European ballistic missile defense network closely -- and not for protection from ballistic missiles.
The United States' plans for ballistic missile defense installations in Central Europe will fuel the ongoing geopolitical contest between Washington and Moscow.
A series of events from Central Europe to Asia this week showed that Russia's attempts to undermine U.S. control over Europe's security institutions are bearing fruit.
Trilateral cooperation between North Korea, Iran and Pakistan on ballistic missile development has been longstanding and well established, as has Chinese facilitation.
A report that Russia has moved missiles to its borders with NATO member states comes amid divisions within NATO and tensions between the West and Russia over missile defense.
U.S. plans for ballistic missile defense in Central Europe have actually increased in scope since an initial proposal was scrapped in the fall of 2009.
Ballistic Missile Defense technology -- the ability to intercept missiles in flight and destroy them before they can hit their targets -- is just beginning to approach the early stages of operational effectiveness. A political dance is evolving around BMD’s deployment and its future effects on the international system.
