Missile Shields in Europe

The U.S. is nearing the point of activating a missile defense shield in Southern Europe, the Washington Post reports. What strikes me as interesting about the whole European Missile Defense Shield program is that is smacks of wholehearted American Imperialism.

Allegedly, Iran is the primary concern in this situation but everyone knows that it is designed against Russia. What purpose would Iran have in launching a missile at Bulgaria, Italy or even Germany or France (the latter of the two did not participate in the Second Gulf War). The intent is the same as it was when Reagan pitched the idea in the 80s, limit Russia's capability in Europe.

Furthermore, why is the United States defending Southern Europe from Iran? Well, obviously there is a strong economic interest in the region and its quite valuable to the United States. But the method in which the U.S. is taking such proactive and costly measures to defend the European Union creates the illusion that these are American States we're protecting. Granted there are U.S. bases in Germany which could be targeted by Iran, the very fact that there continue to be U.S. bases in Germany 65 years after the end of World War II reinforces the notion that American leadership regards these European states as much more than foreign states.

When it is considered that these measures are designed to protect Europe from Russia, the situation takes on a whole new light. Essentially, America is trying to reconstruct the Cold War situation and put Europe in its back pocket again. This is especially important considering so many of the former communist states are now included in America's sphere of influence. The missile shield is a consolidation of power in Europe after post-Cold War gains.

On a side note, I find Barack Obama's position on the shield worthy of note. He campaigned on the premise of reducing America's activism abroad, or at least produced the illusion of this. He rejected the Bush style missile shield in Europe during the campaigning season and before, but once he'd achieved the high office his position resembles Bush's more than it contrasts with it. Upon taking office he elaborated that his disagreements with the Bush admin over the missile shield were that it was too rigid and he favored a more flexible system. Bush had wanted bases in Poland, much to Russia's chagrin. Obama wanted to remove these bases to improve relations with Russia... but only to place them in the Czech Republic and Bulgaria instead... much to the same intended effect as Bush. These developments regarding the missile shield prove that the Obama administration is much more Imperial than it seems...