Russia's Real Enemy in the East

In his Prague speech on Sunday, U.S. President Barack Obama reinforced his vision of reducing the number of nuclear weapons held by the United States, Russia and the other members of the "nuclear club." He also said one of his goals is to eliminate all nuclear weapons from the planet.

On the same day, North Korea launched a Taepodong-2 missile that crossed over Japanese airspace before falling into the Pacific Ocean. It became clear to everyone how dangerous it is for a rogue state to possess both a nuclear device and missiles.

These two events on Sunday should also have cleared up a few things for Russia's military leaders. As Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov has been trying to implement military reforms, the top brass have argued that no structural changes should be made to the organization of the armed forces until the military doctrine -- the fundamental security document that specifically spells out which military threats Russia is facing -- has been finalized. After North Korea's missile launch, the situation should be crystal clear.