For the millionth time in the last 20 years, NATO (with secretary general Anders Fogh Rasmussen) met with prime minister Dimitri Medvedev to discuss, among other things, Russian displeasure with the NATO campaign in Libya and the intractable issue of a European missile defense system. So, uh, how did it go?
Well, it went really well, thank you very much.
Wait, scratch that. It was awful, just awful.
The Russian issue with regard to the NATO bombing campaign in Libya is relatively straightforward; Russia is irritated with what it feels is NATO's ever-expanding presence in Libya, arguing the mission's objective is to protect innocent civilians in Libya. Russian officials protest that the delivery of arms to the rebels, as well as the presence of foreign military instructors in Libya, are in direct violation of resolutions passed by the UN earlier this year. NATO, of course, does not see things way. Russia, naturally, has decided to go with the 'Bobby Fischer' approach to diplomacy, so hopefully that works out better than Mr Fischer's last press conference.
The other biggie, and one that is the main thrust of the second and third links, is the future of a NATO-sponsored European missile defense system. I'll spare you the gory details but, suffice it to say, NATO and Russia still have a pretty wide gulf to bridge if this thing is to ever get off the ground. Here's NATO's official statement about the future of missile defense. And here is an article claiming that the proposal is not only ineffective, but might also actually endanger Russia.
What's interesting is the throwaway article at The Voice of Russia about NATO praising the security measures implemented by Russia for the 2014 Sochi Games. What's interesting to me and, in addition, something that I've had a hell of a time finding more about, is Russia's demonstration of what's known as STANDEX; that is, Stand-off Explosive Detection. One of the larger pursuits of the NATO-Russia council is the development of this technology. It is hoped that this technology will be successful at "identifying and recognizing explosives on a suicide bomber or on a movable object in urban transport."
With security issues already a major concern for the 2014 Games, it will be interesting to follow the development of this technology to see whether this might change the way potential terrorists are caught in the act before they have the chance to reek Munich '72 style violence in 2014.
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