U.S., Poland Reach Agreement on Missile Defense (Update2)

By Katya Andrusz

Aug. 14 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. and Poland signed a preliminary accord today that will allow for 10 U.S. interceptor missiles to be based in the eastern European country, completing a defense system that Russia opposes.

The U.S. has agreed to Polish requests including modernization of its armed forces in exchange for the location of the missiles, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said in an interview with private broadcaster TVN24 this evening.

``We are now harvesting the fruit of many months of hard work,'' said Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski at a joint press conference with U.S. Undersecretary of State John Rood in Warsaw. ``Only people of ill intent should fear this agreement.''

Talks on locating part of the planned missile-defense shield on Polish territory made headway yesterday in the wake of the Georgian conflict.

The Russian incursion heightened Poland's security concerns and ``made the Polish government a little more willing to conclude a deal,'' said Wade Boese, research director at the Arms Control Association, a non-partisan group in Washington. ``It may also have made the Bush administration more willing to meet the Polish demands.''

White House View

In Washington, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said the purpose of the system ``is to protect our European allies from any rogue threats such as a missile from Iran'' and ``in no way is the missile defense aimed at Russia.''

Perino said she ``couldn't say'' whether Russia's attacks in Georgia spurred today's final action on the agreement.

Poland and the U.S. have been holding talks on establishing an American base in Poland for more than 18 months. While the U.S. signed a final agreement last month with the Czech Republic on locating a radar base there, the Polish government held out for additional security assurances.

The Polish government said before the current round of missile defense talks that the Georgian conflict had underscored its arguments in favor of more security guarantees.

Sikorski confirmed that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had called off a visit to Warsaw, planned for next month. He said he had received the information before an agreement had been reached with Rood over missile defense and said he thought the Russian decision had been made ``in connection with Georgia.''

Russian Criticism

Russia has sharply criticized U.S. plans to place elements of the defense shield in the two former Soviet satellite states, saying they threatened its national security. The Russian government has repeatedly warned it would build up military defenses along its frontiers if the project went ahead.

Sikorski will talk to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice next week to find a date for signing a final contract, which also has to be ratified by the Polish parliament, he said today. If completed, the agreement will allow for the deployment of 10, two-stage missile interceptors made by Orbital Sciences Corp., based in Dulles, Virginia.

The missile shield may still encounter resistance from U.S. lawmakers. Congress, controlled by Democrats, has mandated that the interceptors' effectiveness be proven through tests and that the Polish and Czech Republic parliaments approve the deals before U.S. funding for the programs is approved, Boese said.

New President

``We're still talking a number of years before any interceptors can actually be deployed, and in the meantime you're going to have a new administration that could rethink the whole plan,'' Boese said.

The Pentagon wants to start construction in Poland by July next year in order to have an initial capability to defend against Iranian missiles by April 2012, according to U.S. Missile Defense Agency briefing charts.

According to Tusk, the U.S. agreed to initially station one battery of Patriot air defense missiles on Polish soil with potentially more to follow. This would be good news to Lockheed Martin Corp. and Raytheon Co., as the two companies are the top contractors on the Patriot missile program.
Last Updated: August 14, 2008 17:44 EDT

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aakWCWAS_u34&refer=worldwide

quote :In Washington, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said the purpose of the system ``is to protect our European allies from any rogue threats such as a missile from Iran'' and ``in no way is the missile defense aimed at Russia.''
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If the purpose of such a missile shield is necessary to protect Europe from Iran, why is it placed in Poland and not in for instance Greece, which would seem more logical in that case.
In reality the missile defense shield is of course aimed at Russia; there can be no doubt about that.

well i would assume it would be for any threat toward poland rather it be russia or iran, or any rouge nations in the future, but whatever, i just posted i dont have a strong opinion either way,i just wonder who will be joining NATO next, they seem to let a one or two in at a time, i think i heard on tv but have not read anything on this, is the ukraine, has 4 nato countrys around it, so it would be a good choice, i think like 55 milllion citizens, but like i said i just heard that on tv, was not even watching it, so i maybe not correct on some facts, take care

I suppose the Russians see that missile shield in Poland as the Americans saw the Russian missiles in Cuba and I can t blame them.

Mays Gilliam wrote:I suppose the Russians see that missile shield in Poland as the Americans saw the Russian missiles in Cuba and I can t blame them.

yes i hear u, except the cuba thing was offensive missles and this is just a missile defence shield, is the difference i can see. i would imagine both united states and russia haviing such a great amount of war heads, the defense shield may not work between them , like something would make it through, but might work on a rouge nation with out the great amount of warheads, and im not sure if the missiles need to be close, like u said greece, since they usually hit the target while on the fringes of space,or in space, plus who knows if greece would want them, lots of unknown factors, so im posting in the dark, take care,