FYI -

The missile defense shield that we were going to deploy in Europe was going to protect Europe. Not the US. We still have working parts for a continental defense.

The problem with scrapping defense of Europe to make nice nice with Russia is that it handsomely rewards Russia for the following behavior (and reinforces it) :

Russia consistently cultivates relationships with rogues. They do this knowing that western democracies will try to use Russia as a conduit for modifying the behavior of rogues. Russia itself maintains a quasi-rogue status which allows it a free hand in things like de-democratising Georgia and Ukraine after having disassembled its own democracy in favor of strong man rule. So Russia has every incentive to aid and encourage “out of line” behavior among its “friends” while always keeping some semblance of hope for stability and normalcy if only Russia is “brought in” to make things work.

They learned to do this in the Middle East in the Cold War and now it is the entire basis of their foreign policy and much of its domestic policy (like using gas pipelines to extort political change in satellite nations and Europe itself).

Obama just paid off Russia, and neither Iran nor Russia will make any substantive changes - they will just act better behaved for a short while and then start in again on the rogue activities along with new grievances to be addressed. As will Hugo Chavez. As will North Korea. As will Syria. As will the PA.

Nothing new here except a new administration that has to go through its own “pooty poo” embarrassments before they realize they have been had.