I've promoted this view consistently but I understand that today Putin compared the US shield to Cuba and said that the distance between the two countries is similar to the Cuban missile crisis.
The crisis was the closest the world ever came to nuclear destruction.
Fortunately for the world, `the other guy--the Russians--blinked."
Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev agreed to dismantle the bases in return for guarantees that Washington would not attack communist Cuba.
Khrushchev had cause for alarm, the Bay of Pigs fiasco for instance.
Kennedy may not have been inclined to support such a foolhardy mission in any case so this was not a major concession, it did however, ensure peace between the two superpowers.
Bush has said there is a "real and urgent" need for a missile shield in Europe as a defense against possible attack by Iran and countries in the Middle East.
Bush is wrong.
And, so wrong in fact, he is missing a major opportunity for the Russians to provide regional security, cut down on U.S. foreign commitments, and, save American tax dollars to boot.
If the rhetoric of the two leaders is to be believed, Bush and Putin, are friends and partners.
EU leaders at a Portugal summit were hoping to settle issues with Russia concerning energy supplies.
The EU depends on Russia for a third of its energy needs and has seen gas supplies disrupted for two successive winters.
The EU is dependent on Russian supplies.
Russia is also surreptitiously exporting illicit drugs but at the conference one issue was settled on raising the quota for Russian steel exports to the EU.
Russia dismissed concerns over human rights in that Russia's envoy to the EU warned that Moscow didn't "want to listen to any lectures".
Both Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have considered the Kremlin guilty of a worsening human rights record.
The Kremlin also opposes the position of several EU members by opposing independence for the Serbian province of Kosovo. Russia has also criticized moves to impose sanctions on Iran.
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