Washington talking to Warsaw about possible U.S. missile base in Poland

WASHINGTON (AP) - U.S. and Polish officials are discussing building a base in Poland from which U.S. interceptors could shoot down long-range missiles as part of a global defence network, a Pentagon official said Wednesday.

It would be the first American strategic missile defence site outside U.S. territory, and would be designed to defend all of Europe against intercontinental-range missiles - primarily those launched from the Middle East.

No decision has been made to proceed with a missile defence base in Poland and alternative sites in Europe are a possibility. But the Pentagon official said Poland appears to be the most likely host country for the kind of American military installation that would have been unthinkable before Poland joined NATO in 1999.

The official discussed the matter only on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.

The Pentagon has made no public announcement of its discussions with Polish officials, although it has made known its extensive consultations in recent years with NATO allies on the threat posed by ballistic missiles.

On Monday, Poland's new prime minister, Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz, said he was opening a public debate on whether to host a U.S. missile defence base.

He did not specifically say Washington was interested in installing ground-based interceptors of the sort that the Pentagon has recently installed in Alaska.

"This is an important issue for Poland, related to our security and to our co-operation with an important ally," Marcinkiewicz said.

He leads a new conservative government in Warsaw that took office on Oct. 31. The previous government had expressed concern that missile defence co-operation with Washington could harm relations with Russia, which had opposed Poland's decision to become a member of NATO.

The U.S. military has no permanent bases in Poland or other Central and Eastern European countries formerly aligned with the Soviet Union. The U.S. does have bases in former Soviet republics in Central Asia such as Kyrgyzstan.

U.S. officials have been discussing with new NATO members Romania and Bulgaria the possibility of basing some U.S. troops there as part of a repositioning of U.S. forces around the world.

U.S. officials have been considering a number of possibilities for extending the American missile defence network to include Europe, although most of the focus has been on defences against short-range missiles.

Long-range missiles are considered an emerging threat, in the view of Bush administration officials, because of the proliferation of technologies that would allow countries such as Iran and possibly Syria or Libya to build extended-range missiles. The threat is especially worrisome when coupled with nuclear warheads.

The current U.S. defence system against long-range missiles is limited mainly to an installation at Fort Greely, Alaska, where at least six missile interceptors are in underground silos, linked to a command and control system. It is designed mainly to shoot down missiles fired at U.S. territory from North Korea, with future expansion planned.

The Pentagon official who discussed the Polish option said that if a missile defence base were built there, it probably would be the only one needed to defend Europe against long-range missiles, although radars, other sensors and interceptors designed to combat shorter range missiles also would be needed for a complete defence.

The official estimated that a site in Poland would not be ready to begin operating before 2010. He offered no estimate on how much it might cost or when U.S. officials were likely to make a decision to proceed. Also undetermined is whether the site would be controlled jointly by U.S. and Polish forces or possibly with a NATO role.

"Take a look for example, how passionately jb6 was trying to convince everybopdy here, that decision to locate that base in Poland makes asolutaly no sense from geographical point of view."

If that system was going to be located for example in Kaliningrad (that's not possible of course but If... )the same gnome and his old useful idiot would post 20 threads about that and would be polluting 200 others writing how that is helpful in the WOT added of course to the usual bullshits about Putin being the real Christian and Russia secretly helping everywhere.

Here you have another proof, that this base in Poland will not be against Russia.
This is a flight route from Moscow to Chicago.

http://gc.kls2.com/cgi-bin/gc?PATH=SVO-ORD&RANGE=&PATH-COLOR=&PATH-UNITS=mi&SPEED-GROUND=&SPEED-UNITS=kts&RANGE-STYLE=best&RANGE-COLOR=&MAP-STYLE=

The base is supposed to be located in southern Poland (or in Hungary, or in Czech Republic, but as I've read - the Americans consider Poland as the perfect location).

This shows, that it's to protect both Europe and U.S. from the potential threat from the Middle East.

Take a look at this map. If it was about Europe only (from Italy to Great Britain), then Slovakia, or Hungary, or Czech Republic would be better.

To protect U.S. Poland's location is much better - as you can see on the map in #160.

BTW - it's an excellent web-page that Great Circle Mapper. Great fun.

jb6 and RusIvans method of propaganda is to post some infos claiming for example that poles murdered 100.000 POW's, that inflation is high, etc. You need time to seek and post some credible english sources which prove their lying or are incompetent and/or hatred. Look at some of the last posts from this topic link

It's very usefull to post whatever you want, and then, when there's much less interest from the side of others Freepers, we have time to prove they're lying. Well, what can I know, I'm a leftist, hate Jews, hate Russians, and was never in the military.....Just a stupid Pole.

I appologise all whom I could insult in the spirit of the moment. That's not my nature to use personal insults.

You certainly did against me, and I am not Russian. I never once defended Russia on Free Republic until last fall. It was then I first saw articles and posts condemning Russia for its actions in Chechnya. I knew for a fact many of these articles were downright lies or distortions from those on the side of Chechens and al-Qaeda, or from gullible reporters like Anna Politkovskaya. She only sees the view Chechens carefully present to her, which consists of the suffering and destruction. Unfortunately, poor Anna hasn't a clue as to the root causes for the war, nor does she comprehend walking away from the conflict will only compound the conflict. She is like so many members of the Democratic Party in America who want peace at any price, including giving up their soul and first born. Which brings me to Poland.

I understand the Poles aversion to Russia, albeit I do not agree you are completely without fault in the long standing feud. Everyone views life through a lens based upon their life's experiences, knowledge, and bias. Poles see the Chechen conflict through an "everything Russian is evil" lens, and that is causing them to lose sight of the root cause(s) for this war. The Polish protests are not helping to solve the conflict, and in giving support to the Chechens you are throwing gasoline on the fire. You might want to rethink your position and actions.

Nowadays, the Chechen people perishes before our eyes just because they are Chechens - just for the same reasons.==

Wild and stupid accusations.

I personally know chechen family who lives in Moscow. They evacuated from Argun, Chechnya.
Mother works as accountant and father works as guard. Recently they got morgage and brought thier condo apartment in new building.
Being chechens doesn't impede thier life in Moscow.

Accually about 200 thousands chechens lives in other part of Russia who knows how many in Moscow.

Interceptor missile has no military value, other than to take out another missile. It has limited range, relatively small warhead. It provides no other military purpose. It is a precision peashooter.==

It is shield right? As they said one with sword and shield is better armed then one with only sword.

My neighbor's are well armed, and I have no fear of my neighbor, one because I trust my neighbor and two I am .==

Now you say it "equally if not superiorly armed". So Russia just need now to be at least "equally armed". So Putin was right when he pressed development of new warheads capable to surcumvent interceptors.

You made a big mistake. While JB6 speaks Russian is a strong student of European history he is an American. I know for a fact he served in the American army as an officer.

In our military we have many individuals who have majored in both Russian language and history. JB6 is one such example, and Major Hamilton is another. I have another individual at my church who wanted to work for the CIA, and he took the same courses at the university.

Poland lies directly under the great circle route from the Middle East (Tehran) to the US East Coast (Washington, DC).==

This route is deficient from point of energy. Who wants to launch against Earth spin? They would launch rather over north pole in order don't have earth spin worked against it.

Uffff!

I've just gone though his posts in the link you provided above. It was hard, but I forced myself to do so :-)

You see - this is why I try to avoid getting into conversation with them (however sometimes I can't stand).

It's pointless to discuss with a person, who is completely braindwashed with historical (or maybe better would be to say his-storical) "knowledge" deriving from the old, good Soviet tradition.
As to Polish - Russian relations - I bet there are no special differences between contemporary Russian school books and those ones from Soviet time.
OK - there might be a difference relating to Katyn - as Soviets maintained, that it was a German atrocity.
And that stupid (sarcasm) Gorbachev admitted, it was the Soviets, who commited it (if not - I'm sure RusIvan would maintain the Soviet version until today).
So they had to invent some justification. And Gorbachev on November 3, 1990 (right after TASS had published a statement admiting the truth) issued the decision number RP-979, in which, in its point number 9 he ordered the Soviet Academy of Sciences to look for "facts" in Russo-Polish relations, that may be used, as a counter-balance for Katyn massacre. So they found that story about Soviet POW's, allegedly killed in Polish POW camps.

What really scares me is the fact, that we're talking probably about young, educated person.
So imagine what a common attitude in Russia might be like.

Yes! You are absolutely right. I got flamed after the statement "Ok, we'll aim some nukes at Poland"==

Again same thing if Poland builds new base which will have interceptors which can overshoot russian territory it is OK. Then if Russia will point some nukes on Poland as answer then it is very bad.

BUT it will be RECIPROCAL answer. Guys I find it that you simply allow your country do whatever she wants but you absolutely cann't stand REACTION on your actions. Thats really funny:).

This pattern I had found many times. In case of soviet-polish wars and killing of POWs. In case of partitions of Poland.
Always you allow your country do things but if she got blows in return the nasty blows I agree, then it make you very aggitated.

Guys can possibly Poland do not do things which surely will provoke russian reaction? Or again we may fall in same pit.

Poland is provoking Russia with this new base. The answer will come for sure. But when it happened will you again complain of Russia on whole world?

For instance, RusIvan once said that 10 million Poles in the USA is impossible because Poland's population in the 18th and 19th Century was 20 million. So, according to RusIvan's brain it's impossible that half of the nation could emigrate.

To put things in perspective, a large part of Polish emigration came from Austria occupied part of Poland (that is why this song "Goralu czy ci nie zal"). Ethnic Polish lands were under Russia (Warsaw and Wilno/Vilnius area), Austrian (Cracow and Lvov) and Prussian/German (Poznan/Pozen and Gdansk/Danzig) rule.

Interesting point overlooked by the majority of Poles: during the partitions all Polish lands (with the exception of Wilno/Vilnius now used by Lithuania as capital city) went under Austrian and Prussian/German rule.

It was only at Vienna Congress in 1815 that Russia persuaded the allies to recreate Polish Kingdom in personal union with Russia (Tsar of Russia was to be King of Poland). Polish Kingdom was made from part of lands taken from Austria and Prussia and was centered in Warsow (Lvov, Poznan, Gdansk areas remained in Asutrian/German posession, while Cracow was free city for a short period until taken over by Austria).

The new state was given very advanced Constitution with the strong Parliament (Sejm), own army, and other signs of sovereignty. This infinitely more generous than what Poles got in two other parts of the their country.

So they found that story about Soviet POW's, allegedly killed in Polish POW camps.==

Allegedly lizol? Killing by hunger and deceases are still killings. Look to germans POW camps. Same way as polish they killed 3 mlns of soviet POWs. By hunger and deceases. But germans don't call it "allegedly".

I hope it will come time when polish opponets will be honest with wrong done by Poland not only to point finger outside.

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