Posted on 11/17/2005 1:13:40 AM PST by twinself
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.
I am a Western, Romanesque, Judeo Christian, Traditionalist reactionary and proud of it! LOL ...
Poland certainly deserves the protection. Besides, they'll probably be the last bastion against Mohammedanism in Europe.
Key info regarding ABM technology. Thanks for posting it!
How to peacefully resolve own problems to not give a reason anybody to interfere. I don’t say that NATO would attack Russia, it is possible only the minds of some Russians :)
Syria and Iran have been fighting against us by proxy in Iraq since we went in.
They are afraid to hit us in the light of day so they assist their homicide bomber friends in Hezbulah etc.
That speculation leaves many questions to be answered. It may or may not be true but even if true is not the same as a real war. We have funded and supported groups against the USSR and China (and vice versa) without there being a state of war between us and them.
Texas will never be returned to Mexico no matter how many Mexicans live there. Same is true of California.
If a certain ethnicity wants to be part of the old country they should move back. Any other solution just creates more problems.
Only if McCrazy and Clark get elected then we can go ahead and lock up the bunkers as the nukes will start at any moment.
That's what was said about the Serbs, so we bombed them.
The Poles took care of that issue by forcing the Germans out of Prussia, Posen and Silesia.
LOL ... Either (or both) of those men would indeed be big trouble.
I see there are some very talented and funny comic artists in Poland!
"What ? US has ~70 thousand soldiers in Germany, in case of this system in Poland that would be a few hundred soldiers and because of counter-intelligence reasons locals probably wouldn't be allowed to work directly in the base."
It was a rhetorical question to counter the ridiculous premise that MD centered in Poland would involve 30 Polish employees. From the article's first sentence --- "U.S. and Polish officials are discussing building a base in Poland." Do you have any idea what US bases in Germany did for the local German economy?
This is a perk to an ally the US believes is sensible enough to understand its meaning.
"Maybe but there is a serious difference between W.Germany-Soviet Union during cold war and Poland-Iran now, don't you think ?"
Not if you are representative of Polish opinion. You are responding in the same manner as the disarmament leftists of the 1980's and the leftist Europeans of today:
"Although the Conservative opposition, just as over the Iraq war, is no opposition at all, there are many people, including Labour Party politicians and the Liberal Democrats, who would find the idea of U.S. interceptors in the United Kingdom as fundamentally objectionable as U.S. cruise missiles at Greenham Common and Molesworth 20 years ago."
http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?F=854800&C=commentary
And if your point is that the USSR posed a greater threat of missile attack then a rogue state, a nuclear Iran or a terrorist, think again. The nature of Jihad and religious zealotry defies the MAD that precluded the USSR from attacking Europe. Muslim madmen Mullahs, such as those in Iran, have no such inhibitions. Rafsanjani said as much when he threatened Israel years ago. And he is considered a moderate compared to Ahmadinejad the new president.
Europe is at greater risk from Iranian attack than the US due to their lack of defense, proximate location, and posture of appeasement. Europe not the US is part of the old longed for caliphate.
"Poland (imho) offers few geographic advantages for the defense of the U.S. from attacks originating in Siberia, or the Middle East, when compared to, say, Flyingsdale Moor (UK) were there is already a large (U.S. built, RAF run) phased array radar. "
This author feels differently - that Eastern Europe is a tactically preferable location. He does not state his reasons. In addition there are the political considerations. 'Old Europe' already has its back up against the idea.
"There are many places that such interceptors could be located, but East European sites provide better defensive coverage than the United Kingdom, and an East European country might be a more willing host. "
http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?F=854800&C=commentary
From what I have read there would need be multiple locations, not just Poland, if this was to be a viable defense.
Yes, I read this in the WSJ, this morning. Great news, considering the direction that Putin is taking Russia.
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