[americanophile]

Well, if your point is accurate, and we need anything even approaching 5,000 miles to down an incoming missile, then having missiles in Poland would be pointless for the Poles, or the rest of Europe. No?

[lentulusgracchus]

My understanding has always been that the system was justified to Congress as a way to protect the U.S. from Iranian nuclear blackmail or straightforward attack.

Things have been said about protecting Europe as well. Which is nice. But the U.S. is always the defended target -- it had better be.