Defen
se Secretary Robert Gates traveled to Moscow April 22 to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and other Russian officials to discuss the planned deployment of US missile defense systems in Eastern Europe. Despite repeated assurances from US officials that the deployment poses no threat to Russia, Putin and other Russian officials have remained in strong opposition. US officials have been in negotiations with Poland and the Czech Republic as sites to position long-range ground-based interceptors and missile defense radars to help counter potential threats from Iran or any rogue nation.
Pentagon Begins Transition to Biden Administration
Nov. 24, 2020
Defense Department officials have started meeting with President-elect Joe Biden's representatives after the Government Services Administration on Nov. 23 made government resources available to begin the transition. Washington Headquarters Services Director Thomas M. Muir, in a Nov. 24 briefing, told reporters that while the initial meetings between the agency review…