— Russian General Nikolai Makarov, chief of the General Staff of the armed forces, at a Thursday conference on missile defense in Moscow. He’s saying the Russians reserve the right to attack elements of the missile shield the U.S. and its allies are developing in Poland, Romania and Turkey. It sets up the missile-defense trifecta: Iran readies to fire a missile, the European-based U.S. missile shield prepares to shoot it down, triggering a pre-emptive strike from Moscow. Think of it as a domino theory for the 21st Century…in reverse.
“Taking into account a missile-defense system’s destabilizing nature -- that is, the creation of an illusion that a disarming strike can be launched with impunity -- a decision on pre-emptive use of the attack weapons available will be made when the situation worsens.”
