[Huck]

Just reading Poland's reaction on drudge. I have tremendous sympathy for the Poles. I root for them. And yes, they've been our friend. It's possible that the system there would have been better for our own safety. That's my first concern/question. Much as I admire Poland, protecting them is not top of my agenda, especially considering we're broke.

Maybe I shouldn't say this, but don't the Russians have a point? What if they wanted to put missiles next door to us, say, in Cuba? Oh wait...

Don't misunderstand. I'm for a great national defense. But that means defending the USA. Not Europe, or Asia, or Australia. We'll help when we can, but first things first. But what do you think? Does Russia have a point that the US placing missiles in their backyard is not a good thing for Russia? Wouldn't we react the same way?

[Resolute]

I wouldn’t personally object if the Russians put a purely defensive system in place to defend against limited strike capability, such as was being planned for Poland. Admittedly probably a lot of Americans would object as you suggest. I would feel differently if the missiles were offensive in nature. It has always perplexed me that anyone would object to a nation (whether USA or Russia or whomever) investing in the missile equivalent of body armor. To me there is a big difference between that and perfecting and accumulating the means of mass killing.