NOTE to Students: Read the "Background" below before answering the questions.

1. What announcement did the Obama Administration make this week regarding U.S. missile-defense plans?

2. What is the purpose for establishing a missile-defense system in the Poland?

3. How did Secretary of State John Kerry respond when asked whether the U.S. would cancel the plan for Poland based on negotiations with Iran?

4. a) Which Gulf country (and U.S. ally) is worried about U.S. relations with Iran?
b) Ask a parent or grandparent: is this something Russia should be concerned about? and to explain his/her answer.

5. a) Why is Russia angered over the planned U.S. missile-defense system in Poland?
b) Deterrence is a strategy intended to dissuade/persuade an adversary from undertaking an action not yet started. Is the reason (that the missile-defense system would reduce Moscow's deterrent capabilities) for Russia's anger justified? Explain your answer.

6. How did President Obama's 2009 decision regarding the missile-defense system cause officials in Poland to react?

7. a) Poland and the U.S. are both members of NATO. What is the purpose of NATO?
b) What should be more important to the U.S.: helping our ally Poland or pacifying the Russians? Explain your answer.

CHALLENGE QUESTION: President Obama's decision in 2009 to rescind (cancel, revoke, repeal) President Bush's plan to install a missile-defense system in Poland was a disappointment to Poland and the Czech Republic, as well as conservatives in the U.S. who believe the system was a necessary protection for us and our allies. The Wall Street Journal and Associated Press reported at the time: 

President Obama in September 2009 announced his plans to scrap a missile-defense agreement the Bush Administration had negotiated with Poland and the Czech Republic. Both governments took huge political risks—including the ire of their former Russian overlords—in order to accommodate the U.S., which wanted the system to defend against a possible Iranian missile attack. The White House justified its decision by claiming to have new intelligence showing that Iran's long-range missile capabilities were not as advanced as previously believed. Instead, it said the U.S. would upgrade and deploy currently available missile interceptors useful mainly for intercepting short- and medium-range missiles, where, it said, Iranian capability "is developing more rapidly than previously projected." But the Administration's argument is difficult to credit, not least because our sources told us as early as February that the Administration was prepared to abandon those sites—which is to say, well before the allegedly new intelligence on Iran's nuclear program became available. (Read more in a separate commentary from 2009 at: wsj.com)

The fact that President Obama has changed his mind on placing U.S. missile defense systems in Poland has not been widely reported in the media.  Instead, it is just a mention in larger articles on Secretary Kerry's trip to the Middle East. (The AP headline on YahooNews was: "Kerry visits Poland to discuss security, business") Why do you think the media has not chosen to make this major reversal of policy a focus of any news reports?  Explain your answer.