The Financial Times, August 15, 2008 – Washington and Warsaw last night reached provisional agreement on plans to base part of the US missile defence shield in Poland, in defiance of fierce opposition from Russia.
The US says the shield is designed to defend against ’rogue states’ such as Iran and would be incapable of neutralising Russia’s huge missile arsenal.
The agreement is sure to deepen tensions between the US and Russia, which views proposed missile defence facilities in Poland and the Czech Republic as an aggressive expansion of US military influence in the region.
Negotiations over the Polish facility were nearing completion before Russian forces entered Georgia last week, but the crisis appeared to spur both Warsaw and Washington to strike a deal.
Under the agreement the US will base 10 interceptor missiles in Poland, which will be tied to a radar base in the Czech Republic and used to knock down ballistic missiles targeted at the US and Europe.