“But Bush could claim success in persuading NATO to endorse his missile-defense plan in the face of Russian objections. Yesterday, an agreement was signed with the Czech Republic to build radar for the system.”

http://www.boston.com/news/wor…..ield_plan/
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Post meeting: International Herald Tribune 4/4/08
http://www.iht.com/articles/20…..04nato.php

The story is–as Hunt has shown well–that the Administration wants to pretend the summit was something it wasn’t. But it’s also why the Administration is so desperate to pretend it scored a victory when it hasn’t–and what the implications are for long-term stability in Eastern Europe.

It only stands to reason that all sane, non-partisan, members of the press are utterly fed up with being spun.

Nice to see AP start to break out of the static, unhealthy dynamic the WH has been able to use to keep the press in servitude these many years (since early 1980s).

Kinda like watching a kid who’s had his nose bloodied repeatedly by the schoolyard bullies learn a little jujitsu and defend himself elegantly, without descending to bully tactics. Very heartening.

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EOH, re: ‘the man whose soul he looked into and found it good.’ FOTFLMAO ;-))

Apart from faking it that Bush retained influence over the man whose soul he looked into and found it good, this fantasy would cloud the purpose of his “missile defense system”. Like the domestic Star Wars project and other DoD budget items, it doesn’t seem intended to keep anyone safe (potential enemies are unidentified or their identities are lied about). The intent seems to be to keep paying the aerospace firms whose lobbyists keep CongressCritters solvent and voters employed.

What a disgrace Bush is. Putin really fucked with his head. It’s clear Bush doesn’t have the physical constitution to handle contradiction or defiance. He is a hysteric, or a neurasthenic (that’s why all the compulsive exercise), and when challenged he actually has to remove himself bodily from the scene. I happend to see footage of his attempt to leave that Chinese box in Beijing recently and the preface to the hilarious contretemps with the door was mortifying: Bush wasn’t impatient or peeved at the lectern — he was ashen and stunned, as though the Chinese had really clarified how things stood, and even threatened him.

To wigwam @ 4

which is even more profitable to the military industrial complexes on both sides.

That was basically what my conservitive parents taught me about the cold war. A war government as the mandate to spend to protect FIRST, then worry about how to pay for it later, assuming you survive.

a) the American physical society detailed the many simple ways that a defense system could be fooled;

b)numerous economic analyses have shown that missiles are much cheaper than missiles designed to shoot missiles down – thus any defense system can be overwhelmed.

c) the very real threat is from “portable” nukes delivered by shipping container or truck – which, unlike ballistic missiles leave no return address and could allow the user to strike without the annihilation in response.

Why then is missile defense such a seductive and perennial dream?

Third, there is still a real paranoia about having someone big to back up Poland and Czech Republic, which this guarantees (particularly since there’ll be US personnel attached).

I suspect that there is paranoia on the Czech/Pole side, too, and it’s likely related to energy resources that transit their borders; they are caught between the source (Russia) and the demand (Western EU). See pg. 4 of this report; you’ll note that the OPAL pipeline under construction connecting EU with Russian natural gas runs through Czech Republic, and that Poland has had the highest concentration of natural gas transit from Russia. This puts both countries at risk when Russia gets cranky; I’d certainly use it as leverage if I were negotiating with Czechs/Poles.