In what looks like a big slap in the face to Russia, the US and Poland have agreed, at least in principal, a deal to place missile interceptors in Poland. Warsaw and Washington looked set to close a deal Thursday on basing a US missile shield in Poland, despite Moscow's vehement opposition to the plan which has been given a new edge by Russia's conflict with Georgia.
"Washington has said they aim to base 10 interceptor missiles in Poland plus a radar facility in the neighbouring Czech Republic by 2011-2013 to complete a system already in place in the United States, Greenland and Britain.
Washington insists the shield is meant to ward off attacks by "rogue states," notably Iran, and is not directed against Russia"
Here's the Associated Press article on the subject for further reference :
http://ap.google.com/...
"Not directed at Russia" eh?
I wonder how this is going to look to Russia that the US completes a deal now. Given the tension on both sides because of the Georgia conflict, surely they would have been better to wait on a deal to try and pacify the obvious Russian resistance. It looks like Russia might have just found a new reason to be angry. Is it me, or are the administration intentionally stoking the fires now?
Defence Minister Bogdan Klich said that Washington may deploy a permanent Patriot missile base in Poland, operated by US soldiers. "One battery is just the start. Once it's based permanently in Poland, that would enable the launch of a modernisation programme which by 2018 would provide a complete anti-missile defence system," Klich told the daily Rzeczpospolita.
And just if you haven't been terrified enough by this development -
"Sikorski said Poland also wants a "kind of reinforcement of Article Five" of the treaty binding NATO's 26 nations, which says an attack against one is an attack against the entire alliance."
We all know where this road leads..