It's probably fitted with some kind of jammer that doesn't allow the interceptor missile to lock on.

So why aren't we running to the United Nations security council demanding sanctions? Why isn't America threatening war with Russia if they don't stop their missile tests? North Korea tries to test a missile and the world goes ape @!$%#.

@ STexan. China is the biggest threat. They can throw up a 500,000,000 person military without question. We are worried about these piddly little nations who may get 1 nuke, Russia has 5000+ nukes like we do.

Building a military complex has destroyed this nation and thats all we have left. We are becoming just like all the archaic nations that once were great military powers. Like Greece, the Romans, the Egyptians, the English, etc.. All had the power, then got too greedy and crumbled.

@ STexan, we are already Chinas bitch. As well as Israels, Saudi Arabia and Russia's bitches. We can't jump without Israels approval.

N. Korea is more likely to use a nuke as a first strike than Russia. Russia is smart, they know once they fire off theirs, not only do they loose support from the world, but we will fire off ours. But I do think it is odd they are in a tizzy about this. Yeah its a threat to them, but why should it be? unless they are trying to keep a plan of attack open. The whole thing is just curious.

travelinfotog, North Korea is a third-world hell-hole run by a militaristic, despotic government with little to lose that has a history of criminal activity and of selling off its military technology to anyone willing to pay for it. They're also new to the nuke game and are just crazy/desperate enough that they might even use an ICBM on another country (if they had one). Russia is a comparatively stable first-world (for the most part) nation and (also comparatively) much more responsible. It's government can actually take care of its own, has possessed nuclear weapons technology for decades, and isn't seeking to sell it off to the highest bidder.

China's manpower advantage would have meant something 100 years ago. Now, in the modern age of WMDs... not so much. Plus China has it pretty good right now and therefore has a vested interest in not rocking the boat too much. A far bigger threat is Iran and its nuclear ambitions. A nation run by tyrannical jihadists with a history of backing terrorists and threatening to wipe other nations from existence is WAY more dangerous than China simply by virtue of the fact that Iran, like NK, might be crazy enough to actually use a nuke on someone if they had it.

The military-industrial complex in this nation isn't destroying it, but neither should it be allowed to run it. Militarism isn't what destroyed ancient Greece, or Rome, or Egypt, etc. It was a combination of factors, but the oversimplified explanation is they got complacent and their neighbors caught up to and/or surpassed them in terms of military power. In the case of the ancients, their societies also suffered from having a huge gap between their lower and upper classes.

People have a tremendously overblown idea of how much of America's debt China "owns" -- hint: it's only a small fraction, it's just bigger than any other foreign nation's right now. America is not anyone's "bitch." Israel and Saudi Arabia both enjoy a certain amount of leverage with America because of their strategic importance, but that's just some extra chips in their pile at the poker table. Trust me, America's pile is MUCH bigger, and it's already holding most the cards. Russia is scrambling to maintain what little prestige it can -- that's the real reason behind it's continued work on missiles. They're already behind, they're just trying not to fall completely off the radar at this point. No, if anything, most of the other nations of the world are America's "bitch," they're just jockeying to reduce the degree.

Libtard Rocket Scientists....is that anything like Korean Rocket Scienentists? ROTFLOL

Missiles, and Anti-missiles missiles, and Anti-anti-missiles-missiles, Oh my!

The insanity of it all. The "Cold War" isn't dead, ...it just took a brief sanity break.

When will our world learn how to construct communications and build relationships as capably as we construct killing strategies and build weapons?

You people seems to have forgotten that it was USA who started all these arms race by setting up the missiles shields in Europe. If you people are not so war mongering, Russia and China would not have to come up with more defense systems. amerikans should go back to where you came from, which is the southern half of North America. That's where you belong. Not Europe, Asia, Middle East, or Africa.

I think its stupid that Russia is 'scared' of a missile defense system. How on earth is that threatening? If so, build your own missile defense system.

BTW, it said Russia would send a preemptive strike on the missle shield, meaning the shield is not operational yet.

Misssile defense system costs too much and it is not as effective as one might think. Russia said that long time ago that their response to American missile shield would be for Russia to build a lot of missiles that can overwhelm the defense system.

It is just the military industrial complex that is in favor of missiles and anti-missile technology. How else they can make more money?

Why would Iran or North Korea attack the US? If they do, that will be their end.

Ha! Ha! Nothing like a little arms race to shake down taxpayer money..... How many missiles does it take to destroy the world? Not anymore than the US already has....

Perhaps the Russians are trying to stop the missile defense plan in order to please/benefit Iran...Russia could be looking to court Iran's favor behind the scenes while publicly supporting sanctions against them over the enrichment issue...Russia is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. Winston Churchill

It is interesting that the Russians take this so seriously...the Union of Concerned Scientists have been saying, ever since Ronald Reagan suggested we develop one, that it can't be done...why it's like trying to hit a bullet with a bullet....I guess the Russians don't agree!

new in cyberspace from Toronto

You people seems to have forgotten that it was USA who started all these arms race by setting up the missiles shields in Europe. If you people are not so war mongering, Russia and China would not have to come up with more defense systems. amerikans should go back to where you came from, which is the southern half of North America. That's where you belong. Not Europe, Asia, Middle East, or Africa.

And here I thought the world had moved on from the concept of Mutually Assured Destruction.

Those anti-missiles in Europe started when Iraq and Iran went big on bragging about how their missiles could hit Europe and Iran was actively persueing a nuke. Russian is not "come.ing up with more defense systems" They've bitched for years now that is wrong to be able to defend Europe from missiles, that their OFFENSIVE missles should not be detered so they may bomb smaller countries at will.

Russia is the war monger in this case.

Folks, the problem with Iran and North Korea is not nukes. Nukes are an excuse. In their odelogical and economical system, there is no profit for bankers (aka rulers of this world). This is why we find excuses to put economic sanctions on them. Islam is the enemy because it prohibits interest and is a threat to world wide financial slavery we have today. Their economies cannot be allowed to succeed or the world may wake up. That is why they must be isolated and not allowed to trade. This is same game played against Germany before World War 2.

Why are we starting another cold war over a system that will be obsolete by the time it is built. Even if, for some reason, it is not obsolete , we know it will never be 100% effective. How effective must it be in order to be a "shield"? If 10% get through, it that effective?

I think the Russians are more ticked about the US Missile Shield because it would really put a damper on Russia's arms sales they make to China, India and Pakistan and vicariously N. Korea.

A solid and reliable defense shield would kill their weapon exports, which are their 2nd biggest economic driver next to fossil fuel exports like oil and gas.

I think this is all about money. It seems it's always about money when you dig deep enough.

seriously,

No, that isn't the reason. The missile shield is something that you need to have your sensor network as close as possible to the launch site as you can make it. So by putting the sensor network on russia's doorstep, they are essentially nullifying russia's european missile force. So the concept of MAD (which is still generally the rule in terms of nuclear forces), is essentially gone, and the balance of that power is being upset. Everything is fine as long as things are balanced.

It's crazy to think the Russians are that nervous about being preemptively nuked by America, but at the same time, I understand the logic. Governments and their allegiances aside, imagine for a moment that Russia was allied with Canada and was building a missile shield in that country to contain America's missile capability, and had already "preemptively" invaded a couple of other countries that sit more or less on America's doorstep in the past decade -- say Iceland and Cuba -- and all this is happening while Russia is already projectiing more military power around the globe than the next ten nations put together. You don't think America would be sweating just a bit?

It's a shame, really. America and Russia have far more to gain as allies than rivals. I guess we all tend to forget that the cold war "ended" less than a generation ago; its embers are still smouldering and probably will continue to do so until those of us who actually lived in it are dead and buried -- hopefully not by war.

@ Jonathan-1917156

I just don't quite buy their explanation as being the WHOLE story.

Russia makes a boatload of money off of selling it's old military technology it developed during the Cold War.

A defense shield that is going to be rapidly deployable is something that would make a bunch of tech that the Russians are selling, obsolete. ICBM's are just one of a myriad of projectiles that a missile shield could be used to intercept. Look at the successes of Iron Dome as an example.

However, that's not to say that MAD doesn't play a part in this, but I can't imagine that it is the entire story.

Tony_Baloney

It's a shame, really. America and Russia have far more to gain as allies than rivals.

I agree, but the Russians like the Chinese seem to have a penchant with siding with deplorable dictators and tyrants that care little to nothing for their own people (the US used to, and we've been paying the price ever since with Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan)...not to mention the rampant corruption and injustices that occur within their countries as well. Look no further to how Russia and China fight tooth and nail to allow the UN to deal with Syria's conflict...or pulling every string to stall on Darfur and the Sudanese conflicts in general. It's ALL ABOUT MONEY

seriously,

The russian missiles that matter (the ICBM's) already make any missile shield largely ineffective, and it only took 8 lines of code to change on their TOPOL-M missiles (those are the only programmable missiles in the russian inventory, all the others have analog computers and can't be programmed in the same way).

The success of Iron Dome though is EXACTLY what I am talking about. It CAN nullify short and intermediate weapons, and putting the 'radar installations' to operate that right on their back door nullifies the stalemate. It doesn't nullify Russia's export market, it nullifies RUSSIA'S DEFENCE NETWORK. Now Russia needs to retask their eastern weapons grid to point to targets in europe to nullify that defence network, which basically means that Western Russia (the european part of it) is defenceless from a missile perspective.

In addition, it does NOTHING to protect europe from Iranian missiles because you need to intercept the missile in its ascent trajectory in order for a missile defence system to work (SDI was flawed not because they didn't know what to do, but because they couldn't make a laser with enough power and the power source to do it). So the BMD installations that the US want to install don't protect europe from Iran, because technically that really can't be done, so its only effect is to nullify the russian missile defence network.

There seems to be a typical, and upsetting response to this article.

This article may highlight that the U.S. defense net being installed in Europe is rendered ineffective, but that does not mean that upgrades cannot be done to thwart this. One fact unknown to many of the posters is that joint projects between Northrop Grumman and Boeing have nearly completed development of highly sophisticated, and easily deployed technologies that can disable ICBMs or any other range of missiles with extreme accuracy. The missile defense products range from Kinetic Energy Interception devices using lasers to lock onto, track, and literally destroy missiles from land, sea, or space, as well as devices that operate basically like the jedi training tools you see on Star Wars, launching from land or sea to intercept and collide with armed missiles with incredible agility and, amazing accuracy.

Russia knows our defensive capabilities, and is just posturing. The question at this point, is how far the world will respond to Russia's increasing pushes to respond to purely defensive efforts with further offensive development. Offensive weapons development and deployment is considered a threat, whereas American and European defensive development is quite the opposite.

JustSayingInCO

If so, build your own missile defense system.

Exactly.

@ Jonathan-1917156

The success of Iron Dome though is EXACTLY what I am talking about. It CAN nullify short and intermediate weapons, and putting the 'radar installations' to operate that right on their back door nullifies the stalemate. It doesn't nullify Russia's export market, it nullifies RUSSIA'S DEFENCE NETWORK.

D'oh! You're right.

So then why on earth are we trying to upset MAD?! I've never been a fan of pissing off other countries for the fun of it.

So is all this d***-waving actually our defense contractor-lobbyists trying to incite another Cold War?

As if I don't love our politicians enough already :(

We are winding down wars started by Bush that sucked billions of dollars out of the US. This new race will be a replacement to piss money away. It does not matter who is President when it comes to wasting taxpayer dollars...........

You mean, thanks Bush. Get your timeline straight.

More money flushed down the toilet of military spending while the Nation is deeply in debt and in serious economic trouble. US politicians have totally sold out to the military industrial complex using fear mongering to extort money and blood from American people.

Bush is no longer in office last I checked and this is happening on Obama's watch. So you get your timeline straight.

@FU2 Bush sold you a bill of goods with "shock and awe" and mission accomplished". Too funny that you still are delusional that someone else did it, maybe Bush could sell you some swampland in Texas?? LOL

You can thank the addled brain of Ronald Reagan who came up with the "Star Wars" world missile defense system. Even though engineers knew such a system, with satellite directed missiles launched as deterrents was nearly impossible to build and implement the republicans have dragged this dead horse through three decades in an effort to further bankrupt the Federal government and enrich their godfathers in the defense industry. You want to see another arms race with wars around the world? Mittens is already talking about war with Iran and Russia and anybody else he can think of. How better to further engorge the military industrial complex with our tax money? And yes, it seems the democrats are willing to roll over and play dead to the continued republican war mongering.

It's weird. Spending our tax money to help women pay for contraception and health care is a sin that we should not have to put up with as it is against republican's moral values (there's an oxymoron). But spending trillions of dollars on wars that kill hundreds of thousands of civilians and spending billions more on soon to be obsolete weapons systems is just fine in the warped and @!$%#ed up brains of right wing republican nut jobs. Go figure...

I hate everyone,

There are policies that the former administration agreed to are now being implentmented. You need to get your facts straight.

OK...I'm gonna sound like a jerk to those of you who are on your knees for Obama like Monica was for Clinton. Because Obama does no wrong to you people. And never will.

Reagan dreamed it up and got it on the drawing board. Big Bush got the funding and got the ball rolling.

Clinton continued and even signed ‘‘The National Missile Defense Act of 1999" which is allows the deployment of the system as technological advancements are made. In all fairness Clinton had more to do with the future of the entire thing than any other president before and after.

Little Bush pulled us out of the Anti Ballistic missile treaty shortly after 9/11 and proceeded with further development.

THE CURRENT OBAMA ADMINISTRATION hasn't slowed down one bit. SO NOW IT'S OBAMA'S BABY, just like every president before him and after him was or will be involved in it in some way shape or form. SO AGAIN I SAY, THIS IS ON OBAMA NOW. WITH MORE DEVELOPMENT, which he's doing, comes more pissed off Russian's trying to do something about it.

Obama? LOL, where were you when missile defense systems were designed and promised to Europe? This has nothing to do with Obama.

...and if Obama were to cancel the program, or delay it as you claim he should, it would be you and your ilk that would then claim he is bowing to Russian pressure and is therefore weak.

No matter what the man does, you and yours will call him names and say nasty things.

get off your political stump ....

Your time-line is fine. But some facts seem to be lost in this discussion thread.

The US short and intermediate missile defense shield strategy is NOT being developed to defend against Russian long-range ICBMs (for 2-1/2 years the US has even offered to share this technology with Russia). Statements that this is a shield against Russian missiles is just Russia 'spinning' the actual intent of this shield for the benefit of its protectorate Iran, and for internal political purposes.

This missile defense shield is a line of defense against ballistic missiles launched by Iran against its neighbors, and Israel, and US interests in the middle East, Central Asia and Eastern Europe.

This is not intended as a defense of the program, but facts and context matter.

Bluelake

You can thank the addled brain of Ronald Reagan who came up with the "Star Wars" world missile defense system. Even though engineers knew such a system, with satellite directed missiles launched as deterrents was nearly impossible to build and implement

"Star Wars" may have been addled at the time, but it scared the Russians bad, and since then we've made great progress.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers ("Seabees") during World War II:

"The difficult we do immediately. The impossible takes a little longer."

Does the foil go on the inside of the "3" cap, or on the outside?

proudamericanveteran You should probably change your name. You're an embarrassment to other

veterans.

Excuse me, wasn't it Bush who claimed to have looked Putin in the eye and saw a good soul?

How soon you idgets forget.....

No, it isn't. All people don't deserve equal treatment.

Nope. Look at what our college students are doing now. They have teachers telling them communism is the greatest thing ever, and they are buying into it. All started during this better dead then red of the cold war. Russia has been playing it non stop, and slowly changing the mindsets of our young, since they are the leaders of tomorrow.

No they don't Simmons. You need to grow up.

Having attended the last 2 years in college, I haven't heard a single professor praise communism. What are you smoking?

I'm sure that is what Nazis thought in 1941...

Russia is spending on defense less than 5% of what US spending. Claims that Russia is trying to restart the arms race are a limp joke. The problems with our missile defense system are numerous. Primarily it is an intelligence gathering network, despite the high sounding official reasons of defense against rogue nation missiles.

Have you ever heard of capitalism? It seems to be taking root even in Red China of all places. We have had it here for some time now. It made the U.S. rich. Now it is making China rich. I think our "ism" has been in use to some extent pretty much everywhere. The democrats and all those European countries that are going broke like capitalism mixed with socialism, the "ism" of the failed Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Socialism was also the "ism" of the Nazi's (National Socialists) of Germany by the way. Socialism sounds nice, but it can break the budget of even a rich capitalist country.

The Socialist in National Socialist was in name only. Actually, the Nazis were an extreme right wing party. Think Tea Party.

Yeah, the Nazis were ultra-right-wing; they threw socialists into the camps.

America's capitalism is quickly being replaced by a group of oligarchies who are gobbling up competitors as fast as humanly possible. Capitalism requires competitive markets which are becoming fewer and fewer.

Pogo answered you question fishy, some years ago: "We have met the enemy and it is us."

The comic strip Pogo answered your question decades ago, fishy: "We have met the enemy and he is us."

They're not automatically ineffective against MIRVs by themselves. The problem is that their effectiveness in identifying the differences between real and decoy warheads in a MIRV package hasn't been proven to be highly reliable yet.

This is one of the U.S. arguments that the shield does not affect Russia's deterrent force. The shield can be very effective against the type of missile that N. Korea or Iran would be capable of firing, but not ICBMs with MIRVs.

As an American tax payer, I couldn't agree with you more. We should pull ALL of our resources, including financial aid out of every foreign country and keep it all at home.

Thanks!

Boeing, Lockheed, and Raytheon cannot make billions in profits if there are no conflicts to sell to the US war nuts.

Boeing, Lockheed, and Raytheon cannot make billions in profits if there are no conflicts to sell to the US war nuts.

Or if there is no fear one is inevitable.

Hi Cheney!

Are you insane? You support Russia's right to per-emptively strike the U.S. or it's allies for a defensive measure? How dare we deploy technology to prevent weapons of mass destruction from falling on population centers.

Another neo-hawk nut case for sure....

"Are you insane? You support Russia's right to per-emptively (sic) strike the U.S. or it's allies......."

Those are your words, not mine, and yes, I support Russia's right to take out an INSTALLATION that is a threat to Russia.

"How dare we deploy technology to prevent weapons of mass destruction from falling on population centers."

It's not our job to do so. Let the European nations build it and foot the bill. You seem to have a serious reading comprehension problem.

If the U.S. feels that Iranian missiles are indeed a threat to Europe the prudent thing to do would be to strike the missile bases in Iran, not build an anti-missile shield in Russia's back yard.

I hope you don't injure yourself with all that chest thumping.

I dunno, but if Russia was butting heads with, say, Guatemala, like America is with Iran and there was a possibility of missiles flying over America's airspace from either party, I'd imagine America would want some serious cooperation and iron-clad guarantees from the Russians (since they'd be the major power involved) about that, too. I'm not condoning Russia's (or any other nation's) provocative actions, I'm just saying I can appreciate their perspective.

Tony,

Just look at Cuba in the 60's for the exact same US response that Russia has right now.

Agreed. Like I said, I don't think the Russians have anything to fear from America, but I can certainly appreciate their perspective and therefore I don't blame them for being plaintive and nervous. Hopefully it will pass with time and cooperation.

N. Korea and Iran are not capable of jamming our satellites or radar stations spread throughout Europe. This is another prime example of how the defense shield is truly designed to prevent a rogue nation from attacking European allies, and is therefore no threat to Russia.

The Russians could easily overwhelm the system.

"The Russians could easily overwhelm the system."

And they would be justified in doing so.

alboran, I'm beginning to think you're too enamored of conspiracy theories. Since when has America threatened Russia with war? Not since the Cuban missile crisis, I think. Peace be upon you, my friend.

What if Russia or other superpower partnered with any nation in the Western hemisphere to build anti-air missiles. Surely many war-hawks would be concerned and even strike with air bombing campaigns. Russia truly defeated invasions enduring millions of her citizens death and Conspiracies exist, including Al CIAda the one story certainly you love Tony.