Did Obama tell our NATO allies about his Russia letter?

Wed, 03/04/2009 - 5:32pm

By Steve Biegun

An addendum to the recent stories on President Obama's letter to Russian Prime Minister Medvedev. Much has been made about the nature of the reported Obama proposal to swap NATO missile defense in Poland and the Czech Republic for a Russian-assisted end to the Iranian nuclear weapons and long-range missile programs. The Russian reaction to the letter is that there will be no swaps; President Obama explains that the letter only contained what he has always said publicly. 

Interestingly, there is still a dog that has not barked, so to speak: What do the governments of Poland and the Czech Republic, or for that matter the NATO alliance (which committed itself at the 2008 Bucharest Summit to the deployment of missile defense in Eastern Europe), think about the proposal in Obama letter? 

Surely, as close friends and allies, the Poles and the Czechs and others in NATO were all fully consulted in advance on a letter that has such consequence for their interests. Where is their endorsement? Vice President Biden gave voice to the sentiments of most Americans, regardless of party affiliation, when he said at the Munich Security Conference less than a month ago: "We believe that international alliances and organizations do not diminish America's power -- they help us advance our collective security, economic interests and values. So we will engage. We will listen. We will consult."

Great words. How are they working in practice?

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Overstatement

by wolfboy on Wed, 03/04/2009 - 9:17pm

My review of your link suggests that your claim that NATO "committed itself" missile defense deployment in that document is something of an overstatement.

These are proposed US installations which have been pushed by the US. The US certainly does not need to consult all of NATO before engaging in preliminary discussions with Russia.

Interestingly, there is still

by Brett on Thu, 03/05/2009 - 1:27am

Interestingly, there is still a dog that has not barked, so to speak: What do the governments of Poland and the Czech Republic, or for that matter the NATO alliance (which committed itself at the 2008 Bucharest Summit to the deployment of missile defense in Eastern Europe), think about the proposal in Obama letter?

I'm not sure of Polish support and/or opposition to the components, but the Czech populace expressed some serious opposition to the radar being placed in their country.

Coming out of the Shadows

by AllanGreen on Fri, 03/06/2009 - 8:26am

The answers to what the Czechs and Poles seek are easy. The majority of the population in these countries entirely oppose the establishment of any missiles or systems on their territories. From the get-go the US plans were viewed as open imperialism. So its ridiculous to even consult with their governments, knowing full well how much money we already spent trying to convince their populations that the shield was necessary (we spent millions in PR campaigns) and what costs this incurred to respective elected governments in these countries in trying to convince their constituents.

There is no one in Europe, who takes the defense shield seriously, and it takes ZERO effort to change our plans on this.