THOUGH the cold war ended more than a decade ago, Russia’s frosty reaction to a US plan for a missile-defence shield in Europe shows that mistrust has not entirely melted away. The US wants to deploy anti-missile systems in Poland and the Czech Republic, with the declared aim of blocking attacks aimed at Europe or the US from the Middle East, particularly Iran.
Russia, however, is convinced that the plan is really there to block its own missiles, rendering them useless against the west. Relations have deteriorated fast, and since the US made its intentions public in January, Russia has…
