European Missile Defense Plans Similar to Cuban Missile Crisis, Russian Leader Says

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday equated the U.S. proposal to deploy missile shield elements in Europe with the 1962 Cuban missile crisis, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, Oct. 26).

“Analogous actions by the Soviet Union, when it deployed missiles in Cuba, prompted the ‘Caribbean crisis,’” he said during a press conference.

“For us, the situation is technologically very similar.  We have withdrawn the remains of our bases from Vietnam, from Cuba, and have liquidated everything there, while at our borders, such threats against our country are being created,” added Putin, whose government has repeatedly characterized the U.S. plan as a threat to its strategic security.

Moscow and Washington faced off in 1962 after the Soviet Union deployed nuclear missiles in Cuba that could have been launched at the United States.  War seemed likely, but the Soviet Union instead removed the missiles.

Officials in Washington disputed the analogy, AP reported.

There are “clear historical differences” between the missile crisis and U.S. plans to install a radar base in the Czech Republic and 10 missile interceptors in Poland, said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack.

“I don’t think that they are historically analogous in any way, shape or form,” he said (Eckel/Hatton, Associated Press/Dallas Morning News, Oct. 27).

Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Putin in private discussions had appeared more positive about proposed U.S. concessions on the missile shield that the Russian leaders public statements would indicate, Agence France-Presse reported.

The recent offer included allowing Russian personnel to monitor the Czech and Polish sites and delaying their activation until there was concrete proof of an Iranian missile threat (see GSN, Oct. 18).  Russia publicly has dismissed the package.

“I don’t know quite what to make of the strong remarks,” Gates said Friday.  “Even within his comments about missile defense, he still acknowledged we had made some positive proposals and put forward some interesting ideas.

“I’m still hopeful we can make progress in this area and partner with the Russians.  But the rhetoric is sometimes fairly troubling,” he added (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, Oct. 26).

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