BY CANCELING his predecessor’s unworkable missile defense plan, President Obama was bound to provoke a lot of partisan palaver. But Obama’s alternative approach to missile defense in Europe, an approach that matches proven technology to actual threats, is a victory for clear-eyed realism.
President Bush wanted to install a system in Poland and the Czech Republic to protect against long-range missiles. Russia objected strenuously, but the real problem was that Bush’s system would use questionable technology to deal with long-range missiles - from Iran or elsewhere - that may not materialize for a long time. The actual threat comes from Iranian short and medium-range missiles. It can be countered by tested, reliable radar and missile interceptors, which can be deployed initially on ships in the Black Sea. This system - recommended unanimously by the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Defense Secretary Robert Gates - is what Obama is proposing.
If this new system removes an irritant from US-Russian relations, so much the better. But its central value is that it can protect US forces and NATO allies from the missiles Iran is actually developing.
