that missile shield in eastern Europe

I’m trying to find any reports that suggest that Iran is working on missiles capable of reaching central Europe. I haven’t found any. Yet the Bush Administration seems to think a missile shield, to protect Europe against Iranian missiles, is an urgent matter.

And they want to plant their anti-missile defences in Poland and the Czech Republic – the natural place for a shield against Iranian attack, right?

Wrong. Look at a map, for crying out loud.

If the US were really concerned about an Iranian threat against Europe – putting aside the flimsy basis for such a worry – then the natural place for anti-missile defences would be Turkey, not Poland. I’m sure the Turks would happily oblige.

So what is this missile shield really for?

There are very few countries in the world with any significant capacity to retaliate if they happen to be attacked by the US. Wouldn’t Bush et al love to change “very few countries” to “no countries”? (Of course he would. Who wouldn’t, in his position?) That’s the sort of thing that this missile shield, if it works at all, could accomplish.

So who are those “very few countries”? Hmmm. Russia comes to mind, for one.

I can’t blame the Russians for feeling threatened. The evidence is on their side. The assurances of the Bush Administration – “it’s not about you, it’s about Iran” – are worth diddly-squat.