President Obama’s recent decision concerning the Missile Defense site envisioned in Europe is a major strategic shift, with significant consequences that should not be underestimated. Far from spelling out the demise of the long-time US ambition for fail-safe anti-ballistic protection, this decision denotes a new-found willingness to confront the reality of missile defense programs, as well as related political stakes, to their full extent. By performing a thorough analysis of the internal and external consequences of the Obama administration’s decision, this paper focuses on the lineaments of the unfolding Obama doctrine in order to measure its potential impact on several important international topics.