Russia: Tests Showed US Lied About Missile Defense System

US falsely promised shield wasn't aimed at Russia

US missile defense systems, though supposed to be discussed in arms control deals, almost never are. That’s by design, as the US insists that the systems have nothing to do with Russia or other major powers.

Following recent tests, Russia is expressing annoyance, saying that the US has plainly been lying about that, and that the downing of an ICBM showed the US system is aimed plainly at Russia, and threatens to undermine Russia’s missile capabilities.

In the grand scheme of things, the US systems’ cost and dubious effectiveness means that the Russian systems are only somewhat impacted. Still, any impact means they need to be discussed as part of the bigger nuclear deals

That certainly means any START extensions are going to need to cover the missile defense systems. That’s likely a problem, because the US insists they don’t matter, and Russia’s evidence that they plainly matter probably is just going to be another bump in the road.

This could change things a bit on other fronts too. The US missile defense systems were deliberately targeting Iran and North Korea, while also hitting Russia and China’s frontiers. Future US deployments will be more controversial, and will dictate a lot of reactions.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.