I mentioned earlier that hypocrisy is something "innate" to everyone - an example: saying that we should preserve and save the environment, nature, the earth - well, nothing would be better for the environment, nature and earth than getting rid of most of the human population. That is of course not an option. This is also why simplistic propositional logic is not very useful in complex decisions. Therefore we look at a balancing act between good and bad decisions, for the present and future. Syria and Russia were mentioning a series of different air defense systems. Those are not offensive per se, but can of course be used in an offensive strategy as well. If one adheres to simplistic thinking - increasing one's military capability can be thought of as increasing one's defense capability. My point here is that you guys are using simplistic thinking selectively - and when it suits your arguments. As most of us are aware, there are geopolitical and military strategies at play when new systems are deployed. These do affect the balance. Saying the US missile defense system in Poland is with regards to Iran or North Korea, while being part of the GIUK (Greenland-Iceland-UK) defense line is obviously a big lie. Iran and North Korea are not as aggressive towards Europe as towards USA. Also, there are already defensive missile systems in Israel.
I think the US is more concerned with stability. We know from history that if one side gets too strong, then the temptation to use force becomes much easier. This is one reason we supply arms to both Israel and Saudi Arabia and Egypt. I also feel it was one of the biggest mistakes we made with Iraq, which served as a natural counter force to Iran in the mideast.
Off the topic of this thread a little. But check out this youtube link from around 5 months ago. This in my mind proves Russia's true aggressive intentions in Georgia. Like and trust certain Russian individuals and friends, yes. However, never trust the Russian nation, never, it is like a scorpion that stings, it's what it was born to do. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BypnhFI7HGY
Signate67, just to counter-balance your views and for the fairness of discussion... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Gladio http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Condor http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_of_the_Americas http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_War_on_Democracy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5L1VdlktOw http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Geographical_Pivot_of_History Don't narrow your mind. It's not as simple as you think...