Best Defense
Thomas E. Ricks' daily take on national security.

The paper bear makes nice

Russia has a Rodney King moment on missile defense. (As predicted here a few weeks ago.) But they’re gonna want more from Obama than they are giving. So begins diplomacy. The Times of London reports Russia is a “paper tiger.” I thought it was a bear. DMITRY ASTAKHOV/AFP/Getty Images

By , a former contributing editor to Foreign Policy.
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589048_090128_bear_1.28_resized2.jpg
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev speaks at a meeting in Tashkent on January 23, 2009. Russia is ready to cooperate with new US President Barack Obama on Afghanistan and help with the transit of supplies and in the fight against terror, Medvedev said. AFP PHOTO / RIA NOVOSTI / KREMLIN POOL / DMITRY ASTAKHOV (Photo credit should read DMITRY ASTAKHOV/AFP/Getty Images)

Russia has a Rodney King moment on missile defense. (As predicted here a few weeks ago.) But they’re gonna want more from Obama than they are giving. So begins diplomacy.

The Times of London reports Russia is a “paper tiger.” I thought it was a bear.

DMITRY ASTAKHOV/AFP/Getty Images

Thomas E. Ricks is a former contributing editor to Foreign Policy. Twitter: @tomricks1

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