It's (back) on

For those of you who miss the good old days of the Cold War, it appears to be undergoing a bit of a revival.

A Russian general has threatened a tough response if the United States goes ahead with a plan to site a missile defence system in Poland and the Czech Republic.

"If the governments of Poland and the Czech Republic take such a decision, the strategic missile force will be able to aim at these installations," said the force's head, General Nikolai Solovtsov, on Monday.

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Washington says the aim would be to intercept potential attacks from Iran and North Korea.

But Moscow does not accept this, saying that the system, close to Russia's western borders, would threaten Russia.

Right...it's only a threat to Russia if it's shooting down Russian missiles. But why would a friendly, peaceful nation such as Russia be launching missiles in the first place?