Open The Gates

Conditions: All Shook Up

Enemies Become Allies

Not so long ago, the prospect of the Intercontinental Missile Shield was driving a wedge between relations between Nato and Russia. Russia was increasingly being portrayed as the bad guys, and various old Cold War scenarios were being shaken out and dusted off. But the threat of resumption has faded away, with some simple diplomacy and cooperation. Now we see that the Missile Defense plan could actually be used to strengthen ties between Moscow and the West, due to the powers that be wanting to invite Russia in under the umbrella.

Rasmussen (NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen) invited Russia on Wednesday to hold talks with the 28 NATO states at an alliance summit in November at which he wants the Western allies to agree to link existing missile defense systems and to formally invite Moscow to participate.

Moscow has been cautious about the plan, even though NATO has said the defense system is designed as protection against a perceived threat from Iran, not Russia.

"Progress in missile defense can create a better climate for progress in other areas critical to European security, including when it comes to conventional weapons," Rasmussen will say in his speech, according to a draft seen by Reuters.

"If we build missile defenses in Europe outside of a NATO framework, and without a clear offer to Russia, it will create new dividing lines, between who is in and who is out."

He will argue that Russian involvement in the missile defense system could "reinforce a virtuous circle" -- not only creating conditions for conventional arms control but diminishing the perceived need to rely on nuclear protection.

"If Russia and other countries feel like they are inside the tent with the rest of us, rather than outside the tent looking in, it will build trust ... Controls on conventional weapons make it easier to contemplate diminishing reliance on nukes."

- reuters.com/

See, finally some simple logic at work. By building a fence we demarcate sides, and create a rivalry. If instead we cooperate on fence building we end up building a community. Let's see if we can expand this philosophy outward.

See, currently the "threat" is Iran, and it's perceived missile systems. And so a fence made of economic restrictions, embargoes and military buildup has been slowly constructed around the nation. The natural response to this is hostility, ensuring that Iran probably is looking into building a Nuclear missile or two, likely because of the threat they perceive to themselves due to everyone thinking of them as a threat.

But what if we did the same thing with Iran that we did with Russia? What if we went to Iran and said we were worried about Pakistan, or North Korea, or Mars for that matter, and therefore wanted Iran to actually participate in the Missile Defense system?

Suddenly you have the potential for cooperation on the table. Suddenly there's the possibility of getting everyone to work together and maybe getting rid of some of the tension that's been building up. This is how you ease tensions, not by pointing bigger and bigger weapons at each other, but by finding something else you can both point your weapons at.



Film Review: The Expendables.

Sylvester Stallone directs a throwback to the Eighties, where a bunch of classic B-movie actors are teamed up as mercenaries charged with taking on a small army belonging to a dictator of some third-world island, in order to save the people from tyranny, and the dictator's daughter from torture and death.

Remarkably for a film that is all about guns and action, the two highlights of this film are dialog scenes. One a tense yet amusing argument in a church involving Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis and Stallone, and another quiet scene where Mickey Rourke talks about regret and the soul of a mercenary. But with those aside, this film is as shallow as they come. When Stallone decided to make this 80's throwback, one would have thought there would have been a lot of determination to make it really mean something. But sadly, it just plays out about as simple and obvious as it could have been.

The bad guys are bad, the good guys are good, except for one who goes both ways, but that's apparently OK as well. The characters get along with each not because they really want to, but because the script tells them too. The chemistry is lacking. And while the action is suitably violent, it's also difficult to follow in places. Stallone disappointingly wants to shake the camera around a bit, which really doesn't help matters at all. Ultimately it was probably a better idea to let the old legends lie. Three Shells out of Five.


- Peace out