by Ryan Weber

Created on: April 21, 2008

When it comes to war deterrence and violence reduction, be it local or international, increasing firepower only increases the intensity of resistance. The Cold War era mentality of Us' versus Them' has to stop. Before making a political decision, the powers that be must recognize that We' are all human beings with the same desires for peace and prosperity. The Berlin Wall remains no longer as a barrier between East and West, but as a testament to a time when fear reigned.

Since the fall of the Soviet Union, there has been an unprecedented detente of tension on both sides. Russia has taken on what they have termed their own style of democracy since the peaceful revolution, but critics are quick to point to the government take-over of private media outlets and ownership of private enterprise.

Erecting a missile shield gives entirely the wrong impression to neighboring nations which have the misfortune of being on the outside of the protective fire-wall. When the democratic West is attempting to portray itself as the shining example of democracy to the world, the missile defense shield will come to represent a new barrier between Us', meaning Western Civilization, and Them', meaning the middle-east and Russia. This is entirely the wrong message to be sending to any nation to which the West may hope to improve diplomatic and economic ties.

The reaction to the missile defense shield is easy to predict. Russia will see the move as a threat to their regional influence and, even more importantly, to the safety of their capital, Moscow. A distance of less than 700 miles separate Moscow from Poland, one of the proposed missile sites which is a mere two hours by commercial airliner. It is quite clear that the Russians would see no choice but to build up their missile arsenal and point them right back toward Western Europe.

To add fire to the arms race, a likely next step for a protective America would be to place a similar missile shield to protect our allies in the Pacific. Surely, those in favor of the European shield would also want to protect the democratic strongholds in the Pacific such as Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.

In the recent past North Korea test-fired missiles right over Japan which sparked world-wide outrage. North Korea is also locked in a long-standing dispute over the Korean Peninsula. The demilitarized zone has approximately two million combined American, North and South Korean troops along the contested border.

Taiwan is ruled by a democratic government considered illegal by the Chinese Communist government. The only thing stopping a mass invasion is America's unwavering defense of the small republic. Surely, erecting a defense shield to protect Taiwan from China would be met with strong opposition from the motherland.

Building a missile defense shield only increases the world's destructive potential and increases the superficial divide between East and West. In these modern times of weapons of mass destruction, we need to tear down walls not build them up, and come together as one people. If we fail in this endeavor, we run the risk of falling into another dark age. Together, we can smooth the inconsequential lines of color, religion and culture that divide us and reach for a truly lasting and universal peace where wealth is not based on geography.

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