Obama Gave Away SDI to the Russians for This?

Obama Doctrine

Assuming both parties are equal, the purpose of negotiation is to give something away to get something in return.  That thing can be tangible like a contract to build fighter planes or something intangible like a promise to order fighter planes.  Usually the tangible thing is better but intangible can be as beneficial assuming the party you’re dealing with is doing so in good faith.

Recently President Obama, aka Give Away Artist, gave away SDI (Strategic Defense Initiative) installations planned for Eastern Europe.  The Bush administration had spent many years working with the nervous leaders of Poland and the Czech Republic securing an agreement to place installations within their borders which could be used for early launch detection of missiles from hostile countries such as North Korea (has nukes) and Iran (trying to get nukes).  Even though Polish and Czech leaders had taken great political risks (Russia still regards those countries as being in their “Zone of Influence”) Obama nixed the deal with phone calls coming in the middle of the night.

Why did Obama give away SDI?  He was hoping to make nice with former KGB boss Putin in exchange for Russian “assistance” with Iran.  “Assistance” meaning an agreement to levy more sanctions on that regime for trying to obtain nuclear weapons.

President Obama, recent Nobel Peace Prize winner, instead showed himself to be the Piece Prize winner instead, giving away yet another piece of American leverage:

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin warned major powers on Wednesday against intimidating Iran and said talk of sanctions against the Islamic Republic over its nuclear programme was “premature”.

“There is no need to frighten the Iranians,” Putin told reporters in Beijing after a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.

“We need to look for a compromise. If a compromise is not found, and the discussions end in a fiasco, then we will see.”

“And if now, before making any steps (towards holding talks) we start announcing some sanctions, then we won’t be creating favourable conditions for them (talks) to end positively. This is why it is premature to talk about this now.”

Next to Putin, Obama is a light weight.

On top of this (un)expected (to non-Liberals) revelation we have even more news to make Obama’s decision look even worse:

A top Russian security official says Moscow reserves the right to conduct pre-emptive nuclear strikes to safeguard the country against aggression on both a large and a local scale, according to a newspaper interview published Wednesday.

The proposed doctrine would allow for the use of nuclear weapons “to repel an aggression with the use of conventional weapons not only in a large-scale but also in a regional and even local war,” Patrushev was quoted as saying. He said a government analysis of the threat of conflict in the world showed “a shift from large-scale conflicts to local wars and armed conflicts.”

So what has Obama done to “secure” the peace?  He alientated crucial allies in Eastern Europe (Poland and the Czech Republic), emboldened Russia, and allowed the heat to be taken off Iran, and sent yet another message that Obama thinks appeasement is a way to get things done.

It should be remembered that during the summit between the United States and the Soviet Union during 1986 in Reykjavik, Iceland, Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev pressured President Reagan to give up SDI (then in the early development stage) in exchange for some promises in an arms control agreement, Reagan walked out.  What happened?  The Soviets knew we had leverage and backed down and within three years there was no more USSR.  While Reagan’s departure from the summit did not singlehandedly end the USSR, it did force them to spend crucial money to try and work around SDI.

What has Obama accomplished?  He made the world a little less safe for everyone and once again showed the Liberal doctrine of appeasement only results in losing.

To reinforce this point, fresh on the heels of Russia’s victory over SDI we have a new warning:

Russian news agencies are quoting a top Russian diplomat as suggesting the U.S. should not talk with non-NATO nations about a prospective missile shield.
Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov’s remarks appeared to reflect alarm over the idea that neighbors such as Ukraine or Georgia could potentially host U.S. missile defense facilities.

State-run RIA Novosti and ITAR-Tass cite Ryabkov as saying Russia has “concerns” about what he called U.S. contacts on missile defense with countries outside NATO.

President Barack Obama has removed a major irritant in relations with Russia by scrapping U.S. plans to deploy interceptor missiles in Poland and a radar in the Czech Republic.

But Russian officials say they want to know details about what system the U.S. will put in place instead.

But Obama won the Nobel so everything’s going to be alright.

Related posts:

The Russians are Coming, The Russians are Coming!
Obama and International Institutions: How’s That Working Out?
The Surreal Life of Barack Obama
North Korea Gets Tough Love, Iran Gets Some Love
Liberalism, Obama, and Learning
Iranians Protest and are Murdered, Nobel Winner Obama is Silent