Preznit Moe is frantically trying to calm everyone's nerves about his "missile defense plan," which would deploy missiles along the Polish and Czech borders, ostensibly as a deterrent to rogue (Iran) states threatening Western Europe. On Wednesday, he told reporters that the plan is "not something we should hyperventilate about," thus trivializing Russian concerns about the placement of a system that looks more like it's aimed at deterring Russia than Iran. President Putin has already called out this rationale as "ludicrous."
At the same time, Moe is being criticized for his curious timing in (rightly) criticizing Russia, on the eve of the G8 summit, for derailing its democratic reforms. Moe & Co. have been quiet for years about the disturbing trends in Russia, only speaking up about an abuse when it wasn't possible to stay quiet. But to raise the issue just when tensions with Russia are peaking over the proposed missile defense plan demonstrates once again the tin ear and myopic vision of what passes for diplomacy in Moe's Assministration. One can also point out, as we expect President Putin has, that Moe doesn't occupy the moral high ground when lecturing Russia, given Gitmo, Abu Ghraib, warrantless wiretapping and the suspension of habeus corpus. Well played, Preznit Moe! Nyuk, nyuk!
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