This could be a very positive turn of events in Europe. The people of Poland and the Czech Republic fought very hard against the establishment of missile defense bases in their countries that were proposed by the Bush Administration. It looks as if the Obama Administration is shifting away from the provocative missile bases. Stay tuned.
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US to abandon Polish-Czech missile shield, lobbyist says
ANDREW RETTMAN
Today @ 09:03 CET
The United States has all-but abandoned plans to house anti-missile bases in Poland and the Czech republic, according to a senior White House lobbyist.
Riki Ellison, the chairman of the 10,000 member-strong Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance, said in Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza on Thursday (26 August) that the US has changed its mind to avoid a rift with Russia and is now looking at Israel, Turkey, the Balkans or ship-borne facilities instead.
“The signals given by generals from the Pentagon are clear: the current US government is looking for different solutions on the question of missile defence than Poland and the Czech republic,” he said.
“The new [US] team is paying more attention to Russian arguments,” the lobbyist added.
“Obama’s people believe that many problems in the world can be more easily solved together with Moscow …It’s a question of priorities. For many Democrats, the priority is disarmament and they are capable of sacrificing a lot in order to achieve a new agreement with Russia on the reduction of strategic [nuclear] weapons.”
President Barack Obama ordered a review of the Bush-era missile shield plan shortly after coming into office this year.
He unveiled his vision for a nuclear weapons-free world at a major foreign policy speech in Prague in April, while sounding a note of scepticism over the value of the shield.
“As long as the threat from Iran persists, we will go forward with a missile defence system that is cost effective and proven,” he said.
The multi-billion dollar project was to install 10 interceptor missiles at a facility in Poland and a radar base in the Czech republic. It also envisaged placing US Patriot missiles in Poland.
Russia said the scheme was aimed at degrading its nuclear capability and amounted to a new Cold War.
Many ordinary people in the Czech Republic also said they were against the shield in opinion polls. But the Polish and Czech centre-right political elite saw it as US gold-plating of anti-Russian security guarantees offered by Nato.
Source: http://euobserver.com/9/28587/?rk=1
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