text: A missile is launched from the Aegis combat system-equipped USS Decatur during a Missile Defense Agency ballistic missile flight test in the Pacific Ocean in 2007. The missiles are at the heart of a defense strategy in Europe the United States says is intended to deter potential threats from Iran. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday warned Romania and Poland against participating in the strategy or face a military response from Moscow. File Photo by U.S. NavyUPI