Posted on 07/08/2008 1:42:13 PM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
Russia tonight threatened to retaliate by military means after a deal with the Czech Republic brought the US missile defence system in Europe a step closer.
The threat followed quickly on from the announcement that Condoleezza Rice signed a formal agreement with the Czech Republic to host the radar for the controversial project.
Moscow argues that the missile shield would severely undermine the balance of European security and regards the proposed missile shield based in two former Communist countries as a hostile move.
“We will be forced to react not with diplomatic, but with military-technical methods,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The ministry did not detail what its response might entail.
Ms Rice, the US Secretary of State, hailed the agreement as a step forward for international security.
After 14 months of negotiations, the US is struggling to clinch agreement with its other proposed partner - Poland - where it hopes to locate the interceptor missiles designed to shoot down any incoming rockets.
Washington insists that the system will not be targeted at Russia, but will act as a safeguard for Europe against regimes such as Iran. The plan was endorsed by Nato in April.
"This missile defence agreement is significant as a building block not just for the security of the United States and the Czech Republic, but also for the security of Nato and the security of the international community as a whole," Ms Rice said. "Ballistic missile proliferation is not an imaginary threat."
A change of government in Poland last November saw the country introduce a range of demands including US investment in its air defences in return for siting the missiles.
(Excerpt) Read more at timesonline.co.uk ...
Russia is determined to convince Europe that it could still be a threat.
I think the Ruskies are a little transparent in their protest.
68% to 70% of the Czech population doesn’t want this base.
So why are we cramming it down their throats?
What do you know about the average person living in Russia today? Nothing, that’s what.
If 68% of the people really don’t want it, there isn’t any way in the world we could cram it down their throats.
Well what are the people there supposed to do? Lead an armed revolt?
What is our leverage over a democracy that is part of the EU?
The EU doesn’t want it, supposedly. If as you say the people don’t want it, then what is our leverage?
I’d like to know too. But I’m not invited to those meetings. By the same token, what’s the incentive for England to deconstruct itself?
Maybe they should move to Russia.
Source please.
L
I’m not going to spend half an hour going through back issues to find those stories - I’m at work. You Google it.
Could these stop an Iranian missle aimed at Israel? I just wonder why it bothers the Russians so much.
I will give you my guess. It is the same reason almost every eastern European nation is helping us in Iraq and Afghanistan, either directly or indirectly.
They want insurance, and they don’t trust Brussels to provide it. They want to be part of the EU for its obvious benefit of open markets, but they don’t trust their security to Brussels. They want a security relationship with the US, and at least several of them are willing to put troops behind it.
They are willing to risk the wrath of Moscow because they’ve already been there. They were occupied by Moscow long before they thought of being American allies.
So why are the people against it? Maybe they are, depends upon who does the polling. Their elected leaders want it, and if they thought there was a landslide of public opinion against them, they probably wouldn’t do it. If they are politicians, they probably do their own polling and probably have a good feel for the real state of public opinion there.
This is the kind of thing that could cause an outright War - stupid, stupid.
The Czechs and Poles citizens don’t even want the bases.
It’s bad enough the domestic thug and gang-banger population is breeding like rabbits.
China is willing to risk war with us over Taiwan.
We’re at war with Muslim radicals in the ME. Though we keep importing these people.
We’ve got the LaRaza freaks who are itching to take the Southwest away as soon as they increase in number.
We’ve got Iran to deal with.
And now we’re going to have the Russians to deal with? Over a base that’ll cost us millions, that the Czechs and Pole citizens don’t want.
L
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