U.S., Russia, Iran: A Possible Deal on Missile Defense

The United States appears to be reconsidering its commitment to building ballistic missile defense (BMD) sites in Central Europe. The move, if it is real, has the potential to open doors for Russian cooperation on Afghanistan and Iranian cooperation on the nuclear issue — all without necessarily undermining U.S. BMD capabilities very much in real terms. The big losers, however, are the Central European states who would rather see U.S. troops stationed on their soil.