The US and Czech Republic have signed a deal over the ABM radar, and the Russians are suggesting that they, “will be forced to react not in a diplomatic fashion but with military-technical means.”

This is a polite way of saying that nuclear weapons will be targeted at the Czech Republic, likely in a launch on warning stature.

The Czech people overwhelmingly oppose this, so one wonders if this will last past the Bush regime, particularly if the Russians bring natural gas shipments into the mix.

In a related note, Polish foreign minister Radek Sikorski talked with both McCain and Obama, and the sick old man is gave assurances that the program would progress under him, but Obama refused to say anything.

The fact is that the Russians are right. This missile base is being located in a place spectacularly ill suited to defend against Iran.

The only way that the sites could be located any further from Iran is if they were in the Baltic states.

Were the missile sights located in Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, or Turkey, it would provide better protection from an Iranian strike.

What this is about is the desire by Bush and His Evil Minions^™ to recreate the evil Russian empire for electoral benefit, and, for Condi Rice specifically, to recreate relevance in her area of expertise.