I know this is being counted as progress, but consider what it really means:
NATO hopes a U.S. change to global missile defenses will dispel Russian concern and foster cooperation on an issue that has long strained relations, alliance Deputy Secretary General Alexander Vershbow said in an interview.
Russia has said U.S. missile shield plans could erode its nuclear deterrent. It has softened criticism since Washington announced on March 16 that it would station 14 missile interceptors in Alaska in response to North Korean nuclear threats and at the same time forgo a new type of interceptor that would have been deployed in Europe.
However, Moscow has said it wants a series of consultations on the new shield set-up and U.S. and Russian defense officials are expected to hold talks on that in the coming weeks.
We are trying to establish a thin shield that will stop a small arsenal of Iranian or North Korean missiles, and Russia is worried that the shield might mean that Russia will lose the ability to nuke NATO countries. Which is ridiculous, since Russia's arsenal is more than sufficient to overwhelm such a shield.
Besides, reset nations with souls we can trust don't worry about losing their ability to nuke us.
Unless Russia not only wants the ability to nuke us but wants other nations more likely to use nukes to have the ability to nuke us, too.
The Russians are so not even ready for Goodness Lesson number two.
