NATO Commentary

With tensions bubbling over at the G-8 between the United States and Russia, we have to wonder if Washington has any leverage left over Moscow on crucial security issues. Missile defense might provide some.

Thirty-five years after the ABM Treaty, balistic missiles remain crucial the U.S.-Russian ties. But the relationship has changed dramatically over the years in ways both sides should recognize.

Only thirteen months ago the mood across Europe was so different, as fireworks lit up the skies to mark the accession of 10 new countries to the European Union - overwhelmingly former Communist countries from Central Europe.

In August 2001, a former chief terrorism expert at the Department of State wrote in the New York Times that the Bush Administration was obsessed with terrorism and using it to persuade the American people to build missile defenses.