Friday 12th March 2010
|
Poland missile site angers Russia22nd January 2010
The anti-missile system and its support staff will head to an air-base near the north-eastern town of Morag despite fears that Russia may view the deployment with unease. Dismissing speculation that Morag was chosen in order to send a message to the Kremlin, Bogdan Klich, Poland’s defence minister, said the decision was dictated by practical reasons rather than strategic. “The decision does not have any significance: neither political nor strategic,” he told reporters. “The only reason was the good infrastructure. “In Morag we can offer the best conditions for American soldiers and the best technical base for the equipment.” Although Russia denied widespread press claims that it planned to strengthen its Baltic fleet in response to the Patriots coming to Poland, few doubt that some elements in the Kremlin will find the presence of US troops so close to Russia unpalatable. Moscow has viewed with distaste NATO’s gradual progression eastwards into an area of the world it still views as its sphere of influence, and recently threatened to target nuclear-capable missiles at Poland in response to the Polish government agreeing to host a now-cancelled US missile shield. The eight Patriot launchers will provide Warsaw with the symbol of US commitment to its defences it has sought eagerly since President Obama cancelled the controversial anti-missile shield, which Poland had signed up to in an agreement with the administration of George W. Bush. The cancellation of the shield had left many in Poland worried that its security now played second fiddle to Washington’s ambitions to improve its relations with a Kremlin that had bitterly opposed the shield. Often struggling to balance its need for good relations with Moscow with an ingrained wariness over Russia’s ambitions towards Central Europe, Poland has stressed to the US importance of its inclusion in new defensive systems. Poland has insisted that the Patriots, which are designed to intercept tactical ballistic missiles, be deployed as part of a bilateral agreement security agreement with the Washington. The missiles will eventually be incorporated into Poland’s aging defensive missiles systems. Readers Comments
In the words of John F.Kennedy: "The first priority in US Foreign Policy it to put US interests first", so yes, we do have permanent interests. The US is the first country to actually demonstrate its solidarity with Poland by actually putting troops in the country, unlike the UK and France in WWII where their commitment was on paper. Also, Poland is in NATO, read Article 5 of the treaty. The Polesre less about Russia, their focus is to the West. Also, given the millions of Poles and people of Polish descent in the US, they have more of a tie with the US than Russia. CJC - USA Comments are now closed for this article
|
Michael just read Shock smoking law decision and said
"Anything else would be totalitarian. Let non-smokers patronise their own bars and we smokers will patronise ours." Read the story and add your comment
Latest headlines
| |||||||||||||
NKOSI - South Africa
at 2010-01-26 22:02:56