[Young Scholar]

Couldn’t we place these things somewhere else if we were only concerned about protecting ourselves? I mean, is this location really this important to protecting us against either Russian or Iranian missles?

[tetuhe1898]

I wouldn’t take seriously issues like Iranian missiles, as well as Martian spaceships, unicorns, elves, fairies and other subject of mythology/fiction.
As for protecting against Russian missiles - yes, Eastern Europe is an important location - no more no less than Alaska or Japan. Of course, the shortest way for the Russian missiles is over the North Pole, but the IMD system deployment will make sense only if it can protect the U.S. from all major directions - East, West and North.