The Cold War represented the heyday for hawks and neocons from that era. For them, the fall of the Berlin Wall represented a bitter sweet moment. Without a formidable enemy to help maintain a perpetual state of fear among the population, demagoguery and the war state went out of vogue.
While the collapse of the Soviet Union marked a moment of victory over the arch enemy, it also signaled an end to their own relevance, until now. 9/11 provided a temporary respite and allowed them to resurface and regain some influence, but the prize they most coveted has been Russia and to a lesser extent, China.
People like Cheney have worked tirelessly to rekindle animosity. At last, for them at least, there is light at the end of the tunnel.
Mr. Putin, in an interview at his country residence outside Moscow, said he considers U.S. plans to build an eastern European anti-missile site to shoot down Iranian missiles a provocation aimed at Russia.
Asked what he might do to retaliate, he said he would return Russia to the Cold War status where missiles were aimed at European targets.
Another Mission Accomplished moment.