Russia and Beyond

The deployment of a US Ground-based Mid-course ballistic missile Defense (GMD) within what Russia considers its rightful sphere of influence is an unacceptable challenge to Russian national security. Russians, according to Makhmut Gareev, believe that Russia ''has been under siege for at least 300 years. And still is. Energy-based economic power cause Russia to react to intolerable Western involvement in regional affairs. Additionally, Vladimir Putin's foreign policy pursuits require broad support from varied political ideologies. NATO pursuit of membership for the Ukraine and Georgia in NATO, US recognition of an independent Kosovo, and US withdrawal from the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) treaty compound Putin's problems and exacerbate tensions within US-Russian relations. Given the focus of attention to Russian opposition to GMD, broader issues involving GMD deployment, including the Iranian threat, are overlooked. The stated target of the GMD deployment is Iran, in the forms of ballistic missile and nuclear programs. Whereas Russian decision-making is difficult to predict, Iran's is inscrutable. That there is a constant formal dialogue between Russia and the US over GMD highlights the difference between the political problem with Russia and the practical problem with Iran. Through an intimate review of the entire scope of the GMD plan one begins to understand the system's value to American national security beyond Russia. According to the US, GMD represents no threat to Russia, political or practical. US policy stresses peaceful relations with Russia, and highlights GMD's inability to intercept Russia's nuclear strike capability. Given the tension between the practical benefits of GMD, and the negative impact its deployment has on Russo-American relations, the question is whether or not GMD's benefits outweigh its consequences. Viewed broadly, the answer is a resounding yes.