RUSSIANS WANT A MISSILE SHIELD, TOO

RUSSIANS WANT A MISSILE SHIELD, TOO
President Bush has been hell-bent on building a missile defense system. Now Russian President Vladimir Putin's government has announced that they will start developing a missile shield of their own, AFP reports.
The Russians have hinted before that they might contribute ground-based, interceptor missiles to a pan-European or joint U.S-Russian anti-missile effort. But today, Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said that his government would "definitely develop" air and space-based missile defenses by themselves.
Russia has long opposed American programs to build such systems. But they believe that the American anti-missile program is aimed at them -- and, therefore, have to respond in kind.