Sunday, March 05, 2006

In pole position for stars wars II


Poland is top of the list for the European arm of the US missile defense system.

M&C News reports:

Pentagon experts favour NATO member Poland as a potential location for the overseas portion of the United States National Missile Defence (NMD) project, Poland's Gazeta Wyborcza daily reported Saturday quoting sources in Washington.

More?The US-based NMD plan is designed to protect it and fellow NATO defence alliance members plus Japan from a potential nuclear missile attack by rogue states...

Poland's Minister of Foreign Affairs Stefan Meller confirmed last month Poland is 'continuing talks' with the United States on possible participation in its National Missile Defence (NMD), dubbed the 'Son of Star Wars' by critics.

Late last year, Poland's conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party Prime Minister Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz urged public debate on whether Poland should host US missile bases.

Unconfirmed reports alleged Pentagon officials had already been scouting the Tatra mountains in southern Poland for possible missile base sites.

Defense Minister Radek Sikorski admitted some time ago that with Poland’s unpopular participation in the Iraq horror, with the US still refusing to drop the visa requirements for Poles wanting to visit America, getting a positive consensus for the measure might be a ‘hard sell’.

I have to say that I haven’t met many people who seem very concerned about this. In fact, I haven’t noticed much debate among ordinary people about this at all. And given the fact that governments frequently act against the wishes of the electorate, especially on foreign or defense policy, then I really don’t think that the Law and Justice party administration gives a toss about what Jan Kowalski thinks about this.

A few environmentalist might be slightly disturbed to learn, however, that the system could be housed in the beautiful Tatras.

More?
Polish Opposition Questions U.S. Missile Shield Plan, DefenseNews.com, March 7

6 comments:

sonia said...

Why they would select the densely inhabited Tatra Mountains instead of completely uninhabited Bieszczady Mountains is beyond me...

As for those visas, if Ann Applebaum's husband won't get them for the Poles, nobody will...

beatroot said...

You do know quite a bit about Poland, Sonia.

Sikorski is beingtipped as the next president. He is just aboutthe only one with a brain in the cabinet at the moment.

Maybe the tatras are taller? The technology, as far as I can see, is not too good, so maybe they need every inch they can get to actually hot one of these incomming rockets from 'rogue' states?

sonia said...

My mother was Polish.

You mean they are going to put those missiles ON TOP of the mountains? It will look like something from a James Bond movie. Anyway, the Tatras are supposed to be a national park...

Anonymous said...

Sometimes I wonder who Sikorski is working for...

P.S Sonia, your blog is quite...interesting. Is that really a picture of you?

DBN
kurczeblade.pl

Anonymous said...

Keep up the good work » »

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