In 1983, with the Cold War at large, President Ronald Reagan launched the Strategic Defence Initiative. Driven by America’s constant fear of attack and a desire to show strength against the Soviet Union, the program was aimed at creating a protective shield capable of arresting incoming missiles for the United States and its allies. In accordance with the mood of the time (as well as Reagan’s Hollywood history) the program was nicknamed Star Wars. It also created a great image in the minds of the people: the Soviet Union was the Evil Empire and America must fight it to ensure its freedom. Hollywood is often more potent than politicians.

Of course, Russia has been heavily opposed to this approach, especially the presence of US missile systems in Europe. But now President Obama has taken the bold step many of us like to see. He has scrapped plans to build Star Wars altogether and is bringing in new defence plans that are, in his opinion, more suitable to today. This is a stark contrast to the Bush administration, where it was considered a major initiative. The Russians believe the US took a wise decision. So does the Evil Empire have the upper hand? On the contrary, Russia has apparently shelved its own missile plans in Kaliningrad in response.

This counts as one of the most public displays of improved Us-Russian relations. Obama is struggling to live up to his expectations (and they are huge expectations), but it’s good when he can show that he is willing to keep to his creed – change. It has re-enforced what many thought would be his best characteristic as President – destroying the Cold War attitude. Thanks to him, maybe we can finally move away from the Cold War antics that have been plaguing US politics 20 years after its official close. Obama’s telling the world exactly what we all want to hear – let’s get over it and move on.

RIP Star Wars. You won’t be missed.

It was two years ago, in Munich, that Russia's Vladimir Putin warned an international assembly that the United States has "overstepped its national boundaries in every way.''

"Today we are witnessing an almost uncontained hyper use of force - military force - in international relations, force that is plunging the world into an abyss of permanent conflicts,'' said Putin, president then and prime minister today of the nation that survives of the former power which once stood, with the U.S., as the two greatest mutual threats to one another's security. "As a result we do not have sufficient strength to find a comprehensive solution to any one of these conflicts. Finding a political settlement also becomes impossible.

"We are seeing a greater and greater disdain for the basic principles of international law,'' Putin said at the Munich Security Conference in February 2007. "And independent legal norms are, as a matter of fact, coming increasingly closer to one state's legal system. One state and, of course, first and foremost the United States, has overstepped its national borders in every way. This is visible in the economic, political, cultural and educational policies it imposes on other nations. Well, who likes this? Who is happy about this? ''

This weekend, addressing the Munich Security Conference, Vice President Joe Biden declared that it is "time to press the reset button'' in U.S.-Soviet relations.

"The United States rejects the notion that NATO's gain is Russia's loss, or that Russia's strength is NATO's weakness,'' Biden said Saturday, in an address vowing that the Obama administration will "set a new tone... in America's relations around the world... The last few years have seen a dangerous drift in relations between Russia and the members of our Alliance,'' Biden told the conference. "It is time -- to paraphrase President Obama -- it's time to press the reset button and to revisit the many areas where we can and should be working together with Russia.''

At the same time, noting that the U.S. and Russia will not agree on everything, Biden issued a strong affirmation of the Bush administration's push for a missile defense system in eastern Europe - missiles basesd in Poland and radar in the Czech Republic - aimed at guarding against the potential "rogue'' threats of a power such as Iran.

"Our alliance must be better equipped to help stop the spread of the world's most dangerous weapons, to tackle terrorism and cyber-security, to expand the writ of energy security, and to act in and out of area more effectively,'' Biden said. "We will continue to develop missile defense to counter the growing Iranian capability, provided the technology is proven and it is cost-effective. We'll do so in consultation with you, our NATO allies, and with Russia.''

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That headline could have revived the John McCain's election hopes if sneaky Putin & Mevdev had not delayed the missile move until..(did you notice when?-answer below).

President W has been baiting Russia all 2008 - flaunting America's ‘new-star-wars' project of placing attack nuclear missiles close to Russia's borders in Poland. Even that little war in Georgia was part of the bait. Would Russia react against Poland. John McCain prepared himself with a pushy attitude towards Russia which was perfectly exemplified in the first debate by his words "I'm willing to negotiate with Russia as long as they don't misbehave"! Russia not misbehave!? This is more than a bit rich coming from America that...really....the list is so long.....let's just say... a bit rich coming from America.

There is an important history here - 3 western invasions of Russia - Napoleon 1815, Germany in 1915 and Hitlers Reich 1941. Russia's defeat of Hitler saw a bit of old Germany transferred to Russia. Later there was the American effort to gain a nuclear first strike capacity by placing missiles in Turkey in the 1960's. This led to a counter effort with Russia placing missiles in Cuba and the famous 1962 confrontation which almost led to nuclear war. With both countries on attack alert it was negotiated that Russia and America would both withdraw their respective missiles from Cuba and Turkey. America did not admit the existence of its Turkish missiles but did withdraw them. In the 1980's there was also the agreement between Gorbachev and Reagan where it was agreed that NATO would not place any offensive weapons into east European countries that the USSR allowed to leave its Warsaw Pact. But none of that, or history itself, counts to the W Bush neocons who believe that all international agreements bind other people but never America. ‘American Exceptionalism' is this weird arrogance that Americans, even Obama, embrace as pride not arrogance even when it flies in the face of science and commonsense.

They thought Russia was gone even though it still has enough nuclear missiles to destroy all of America! So they've been trying to surround it with their weapons - innocently, of course.

Now Russia struck back intelligently (the bastards!). They took no chances. They waited until the US election results were in and McCain had conceded and then announced the move of nuclear missiles into the Kaliningrad enclave (deep in Poland) which until 1945 was part of Germany. It was like a perfect chess move by a master with exquisite timing and manners. Hardly any Americans noticed it because of all the Obama news except for the neocons who would have been off their face ‘See that's why we had to elect McCain' but no-one was listening to them anymore. Russia stepped around the neocon strategy (to checkmate Russia) by deciding to put nuclear forces behind the proposed new NATO front line. Check. Very quietly. Double check. In August Russia had easily defeated the American puppet government's attack in Georgia and now it was reminding us that it has a central European territory available for military use - something many had forgotten - ‘where did that come from?' - it was there all the time.

If the American public barely noticed, that was not true of Europe. The Polish complained that it was unfair of Russia to come up with a counter-plan to Poland's wish to aim missiles at Russia. The Germans no doubt sent surveyors to check the exact distance from their border. The French had already been in close contact with the Russians negotiating details of the Russian withdrawal in Georgia and in mid-November President Sarkozy met with the Russian President Medvedev at a European Union - Russian summit in Nice, France. At the summit Sarkozy spoke out against the United States plan to set up a new missile defense system in Europe, arguing it would only set back security in the region. People throughout Europe noticed. The Russian President then called for all sides to avoid unilateral measures. How ‘well behaved'! Plans are now in train for a 2009 conference on pan-European security to include Russia. John McCain and the powers-that-be will not be happy with this at all.

The gap between western European perceptions and the American imperial view (which not all Americans hold) is widening. We all hope Obama is not a captive of the imperial view but past democrats like Clinton have been, have embraced it enthusiastically and, with Bill's wife as Secretary of State, it will take a massive effort on Obama's part to turn the ship of state towards another direction.

Meanwhile Europe, excluding England, will try to get a process that recognizes Russia is part of the European continent and that the headline that the neocons would have loved to run "Russia Invades Europe" is inherently a wrong headed Cold War denial of reality - look at the map - it looks like Russia is part of Europe to me.