Says Bush Aims To Put New President "In A Hopeless Situation"

"We'll wait for the guy who's NOT a lame duck." That's not an exact translation... but seems to be the spirit in which the Russians have told the US they'll wait for Senator Barack Obama to take office as US President before conducting any new talks on a US missile defense system based in Poland.

Reuters reports the Kremlin reiterated Wednesday the system would threaten its national security, and that the Bush administration has failed to allay its concerns.

An unidentified government source told Itar-Tass, "Russia is ready to cooperate with the United States on European security but considers the proposals that were sent are insufficient."

The official was further quoted as offering a motive for US stubbornness on the matter, claiming Bush "is intent on putting the new US president in a hopeless situation, so that he should take responsibility for what they concocted without him."

As ANN reported last week, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev threatened to deploy missiles and jamming equipment near the Polish border to counter the perceived threat. That saber-rattling came less than 24 hours after Obama was elected.

The US has insisted the missile defense system is designed to counter a threat from Iran and other rogue states, and has offered to allow Russian inspectors into the sites.

FMI: www.nato.mil, www.missledefenseadvocacy.org