The United States seems to be ready to give up on planned interceptor missile deployments in Poland, opting instead only for a missile warning radar site in the Czech Republic. This means that what the Americans really want is to keep an eye on Russian territory instead of some imaginary missile threat from so-called rogue nations. Washington’s argumentation that the interceptor missile and radar placements in Poland and the Czech Republic were meant to protect Europe against possible missile attack by Iran or North Korea never really held any water. Meanwhile, the Poles said they will allow the United States to deploy a missile defence base in Poland only if the Americans give them some 20 billion dollars to modernise the Polish armed forces to improve their national security. Apparently tired of all that horse-trading, the Americans advised Warsaw to take a more “realistic” approach on the matter.
In Moscow, defence expert Alexander Khramchikhin believes that having a radar site in the Czech Republic is more important for the Americans than deploying ten interceptor missile silos in Poland. “You can’t have missiles without radar, but, you can have radar without missiles. The USA, at least for now, seems ready to give up on a missile base in Poland”.
The Czech government approved the deployment of the missile defence system on its territory on Wednesday. The basic document still needs to be ratified by the country’s parliament and signed by President Vaclav Klaus. This will give the Americans a unique chance to monitor Russian territory. Without interceptor missiles able to respond to imaginary threats posed by either Iran or North Korea, the Americans will find it real hard to explain to Moscow and their own taxpayers why they need this whole missile defence shield after all.
24 May 2008
Aleksandr Vatutin
Voice of Russia World Service
http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=eng&q=27479&cid=58&p=24.05.2008
Voices from Russia 
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