Final Word from Monday, May 12, 2008
The only certain winners from missile defense in Central Europe would be the U.S.'s own military-industrial complex, says Edward Lucas in his new book, "The New Cold War." If the U.S. politicians whose campaigns these companies finance are "gullible, paranoid, or corrupt enough" to put billions of tax dollars into these companies' pockets for a system that probably won't even work, he asked, why should Russia mind? By kicking up a fuss, Lucas answered, Russia moves closer to a strategic prize that has been the Kremlin's aim ever since the start of the last Cold War: To split the once-formidable Atlantic alliance. Lucas, a former Moscow bureau chief for The Economist, devoted his entire book to criticizing Putin's Russia. But on missile defense, he argues that the West in playing right into Russia's hands. The first step to winning the New Cold War, Lucas said, is to accept what is happening.[Czech Republic Vladimir radar United States Nato]
Glossary of difficult words
book - "The New Cold War," 2008. The subtitle in the U.K. is "How the Kremlin Menaces both Russia and the West"; in the U.S., it is "Putin's Russia and the Threat to the West," or "The Future of Russia and the Threat to the West";
missile defense - see mainly Pages 193-196 of the book (in the U.S. edition, the page numbers listed in the index are often incorrect);
military-industrial complex - a country's military establishment and those industries producing arms or other military materials;
gullible- easily persuaded to believe something;
fuss - a display of unnecessary or excessive excitement or interest;
once-formidable - inspiring fear or respect at one time by being impressively large, powerful or capable;
to play into someone's hands - to act in such a way as to unintentionally give someone an advantage.