The Missile-Defense Flap

The U.S. intention to locate advanced elements of its missile-defense system in Eastern Europe is alarming Russian experts. Claims that 10 anti-missiles are a small number and pose no threat to Russia, which they say boasts thousands of nuclear warheads, and that "these missiles will protect Europe from rogue nations" -- meaning Iran and North Korea -- are tongue-in-cheek and directed at ignorant people.
It all sounds like the speech made by Colin Powell during his tenure as U.S. Secretary of State at a meeting of the U.N. General Assembly. In it, he argued Iraq had weapons of mass destruction and the world community was obliged to stop their proliferation and use. The upshot of all that is well known: Such weapons were never found anywhere in Mesopotamia.

The same fate may befall an American defense shield in Poland and the Czech Republic. The references to threats from Iran and North Korea don't have a leg to stand on.

The first reason is that neither Tehran nor Pyongyang has or will have in the near future intercontinental missiles able to fly more than 3,400 miles. The ones they have are unable to go farther than 1,900 miles. To overstep this boundary requires other design solutions and more advanced electronic hardware and software for keeping missiles on course.