Source: The New York Times
President Obama has a packed schedule of summit meetings. Today he met with President Medvedev of Russia, reported on in the New York Times, and employed his considerable charm to try to move the Russians toward accepting the quid pro quo of the U.S. giving up missile defense in Eastern Europe in return for help from Russia in preventing an Iranian acquisition of a nuclear weapon. Where Bush used bluster, Obama uses charm. Thank God for our system’s alternation in power so we can try out new diplomatic strategies. One risk with President Obama’s quid pro quo strategy with the Russians is that, in return for giving up missile defense, we may get vague promises on Iran, which we in fact already have.
