A cold war for the iPOD generation?

Hmmm, there's been a lot of hot air surrounding the decision by NATO and the US to possibly deploy the next generation of ICBMs in the former eastern bloc block countries of Poland, Estonia and Lithuania.

Not surprisingly this has raised the eyebrows of those residing in Kremlin. And to be honest, I don't blame them. I'm not sure I would be too keen on having nuclear missile bases right next to me on my door step (even if the country and the alliance to which it belongs too) are saying that it's for self defense.

Naturally Russia feels intimated and Putin has made noises about how the current political climate could all so quickly turn sour and head for the big freeze as in the 1960s-1980s. While NATO and the US are trying to persuade the Russians that the missiles are not targeting Russia, but are there to protect Western Europe from any fall out from a terrorist attack slash rogue state. Russia's uneasy is completely understandable.

I am a cynic, but even if I weren't I would have severe reservations about allowing anyone who decides that it would be in their interest to place missiles capable of knocking out a nation within a couple of seconds on my doorstep. This isn't even about trust, to put this in perspective. Why on earth would you need nuclear weapons to retaliate against either terrorist organisations or rogue states?

The luck and lack of result that the US and it's allies have had in cauterising the terrorists now, makes it even more so unbelievable that armed with nuclear weapons they would find the job any easier? I mean what are they going to do? Drop a H-bomb on Tora Bora region to get Usama Bin Laden?

Hopefully commonsense will prevail, and no such missile systems will be deployed. Because the alternative is not a pleasant one.