Rumors of War - King of the North

Russia calls new U.S. missile shield in Romania a security threat - UPI.com
UPI reports: "Russian officials sounded off against a newly activated U.S. missile defense site in Romania, calling it a threat to Russia and European stability in general. As the Aegis Ashore missile defense site was formally activated during a ceremony featuring U.S., NATO and Romanian officials at a Cold War-era base, Admiral Vladimir Komyedov, head of the State Duma's defense committee, told the Interfax news agency 'they are moving to the firing line.' 'This is not just 100,' he said. 'It's 200, 300, 1,000 percent aimed against us.' The former commander of the Russian Black Sea fleet brushed aside U.S. claims that the missile defense site was intended to deter Iranian threats."

Comment: In a better world, both sides would acknowledge their past actions that have created this crisis in relations and would mutually agree on measures to restore confidence. The West, for example, could acknowledge that Russia has a point about the "color revolutions" sometimes not being entirely indigenous. Russia, for it's part, could acknowledge that the stealth invasion of Ukraine in 2014 following the Ukrainian revolution and Euromaidan movement and the annexation of Crimea the same year may have contributed to the perception in the West that Russia was returning to Cold War patterns. This is not that world.