Foreign Policy the Marvel Way

Our favorite communist and ex-communist (so far) nations aren't too happy about having missiles aimed at their backyard:

BEIJING (Reuters) - China and Russia on Friday condemned the United States' plans to set up a missile defense system that Washington says is crucial to protecting the security of it and its allies.

"Both sides believe that creating a global missile defense system, including deploying such systems in certain regions of the world, or plans for such cooperation, do not help support strategic balance and stability, and harm international efforts to control arms and the non-proliferation process," Russia and China said in a joint statement.

"It harms the strengthening of trust between states and regional stability. In this respect (the two sides) express their concern," it said.

The statement was signed in Beijing by Chinese President Hu Jintao and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who is visiting China on his first foreign trip since taking over the presidency this month.

The US (read: Bush Administration) say it will help the country against enemies like Iran. You know, enemies that we apparently don't want to talk to because they've said mean things. I guess it's way easier for them to just threaten and saber-rattle, allies and potential allies be damned.

Keep in mind that before 9/11, the Bush Administration was also on the "missile defense" bandwagon. Looks like the experience of terrorists using American airplanes to attack people hasn't quite sunk in, because the whole purpose of a missile defense system is to defend against a nation with the ability to send rockets to your nation (it's doubtful that the Bush Administration could care less about another country's safety to such a degree that they'd build a missile defense system just for them). Iran (like Iraq before our invasion) had no such capability.

But as always, the Bush Administration lives life like it was a Marvel "What If" comic.