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Behind closed doors, the October 12 meeting in Russia between Vladimir Putin and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was reportedly businesslike--as opposed to the public theatrics that immediately preceded it. Putin not only insulted his guests by keeping them waiting for more than 40 minutes, he also mocked U.S. plans to build a missile-defense radar in the Czech Republic and ten interceptors in Poland: "We may decide someday to put missile-defense systems on the moon, but before we get to that we may lose a chance for agreement because of you implementing your own plans." Putin's behavior was probably aimed at an audience of Russian nationalists who wish the Kremlin still maintained its ironfisted grip on Eastern Europe. The proposed system would protect the United States and Europe from an Iranian warhead without providing any meaningful deterrent to Russia's own nuclear arsenal. ...