Warsaw - "The Little Insurgent Memorial" (Warsaw Uprising 1944)
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.
DO NOT COMPARE CRIMINAL SADDAM'S FEDAINS FROM FALUJA TO HEROIC CHECHEN DEFENDERS WHO WERE FIGHTING FOR PHISICAL EXISTENCE OF THEIR NATION AGAINST RUSSIAN BARBARIANS!!! ==
I like your ranting and raving:)). Remember biblical proverb: "Jupiter you get angry then you are wrong!".
Quoted your expressions is so stupid that even beneath comtempt:).
Those your beloved "HEROIC CHECHEN DEFENDERS" fought to establish Islamic Khaliphate over Northern Caucaucus. Supporting them you support their Khaliphate.
You ask thos about slave trading in Checehny in between 1991-2001? About train robberies?
Just ask them how they lived there if dyuring 10 years they didn't work since totally enterprises and farms were closed. Hoiw they made livings?
I answer: by train roobbery, by hostage takings and ransopm money, by every kind of criminal activity.
Same time hundereds of thousands of peaceful nonislamist chechens live in Moscow right now. According to you they couldn't live there.
But I personally know one chechen family who recently took morgage and brought big apatment in new-built house in Moscow.
Their personal exprerience contradict your ravings:).
Vox_PL you stupidly ally yourself with islamist chechen refugees whose relatives fought for islamic Khaliphate from behind of thier backs.
I don't think that cutting off unborn children out of Chechen women is really necessary.==
Me either but how you know that it is true but not vicious islamist propaganda? Do you beleive wholeheartly to islamists tales? Why not you beleive in it about Iraq?
How come you are so sure your judgements are ok and objective if you are mistaking facts, numbers, scale, conditions etc. You see you didn't know exactly which countries took part in what you call "partition". You thought that Poles killed 100.000 POW's etc etc.
Don't you have balls to admit that you are antipolish?
Wrong in 2 aspects.
1. There was 1 stronger predator - Nazi germany
2. There was only one predator - also Germany.
SU can't be called eighter stronger or predator... It was rather a weaker hyena.
I think the topic has become boring. I offer the parties to agree that Russians and Poles or (Poles and Russians if you prefer) are naturally born enemies and stop here.
One exception proves the rule.
This groups you mentioned 1. existed solely on the money of the Fund of Soros or the Fund of Ford, 2. they're a technical analogue of "leftists" found at freerepublic and they have similar atittude from the Russian people as freerpublic's users have to "leftists".
I don't hope they win one day because they are the thinking elite of Russia, people with concience and dignity.
This is rather a spiritual sect than a thinking elite.
The current rules of Putin, supported by the majority of Russians, in the long run will destroy the position of Russia.
If President Putin is despised so by foreigners he's probably doing a good job.
Many countries will deal with you as usual since business is business! However, none of the free-world countries will allow you to enter without visas, if you will ever be given visas at all.
These are the results of your brutal insolent and aggressive foreign policy.
I understand your Poland-centered position, that's natural from a Pole. But, I suppose you over-estimate by expecting this position from the Western countries not even speaking about expecting a Poland-centered position from Russians. Currently, there is no problem entering a Western country by visa. We'll see whatr will be in future.
Well, as this is Poland which has pretensions, not Russia, than Poland is more likely to open hostilities.
Aren't you a little rusophobic? /sarcasm
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