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| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
| Russia: U.S. ABM base hosts may be targets |
| 2007-02-19 |
| MOSCOW — Poland and the Czech Republic risk being targeted by Russian missiles if they agree to host a proposed U.S. missile defense system, a top Russian general warned Monday. Russia has been increasingly bellicose in its response to the U.S. proposal to build the missile defense system in Eastern Europe. President Vladimir Putin has said he does not trust U.S. claims that the system would be to guard the American East Coast and Europe from missiles launched from "rogue nations" in the Middle East. Gen. Nikolai Solovtsov, head of Russia's missile forces, said the system would upset strategic stability. It would be the first such site in Europe. "If the governments of Poland and the Czech Republic take such a step ... the Strategic Missile Forces will be capable of targeting these facilities if a relevant decision is made," he said. On Monday, Czech Premier Mirek Topolanek said his country and Poland were in favor of the U.S. missile defense proposal. "I think it is in our joint interest to negotiate this initiative and to build in our area the missile defense," Topolanek said after talks in Warsaw with Polish Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski. The bases in Poland and the Czech Republic would be designed to intercept missiles being developed by Iran, U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Henry A. Obering, director of the Missile Defense Agency, said last month. Two other bases in Alaska and California would protect the U.S. from threats from North Korea, Obering said. Kaczynski brushed aside Russia's fears, saying "the missile defense is not directed against any normal state." "Any statement suggesting that the missile defense would change the alignment of forces in Europe is a misunderstanding," he said. "This truth is being conveyed to our partners in the west and the east." State Department spokesman Edgar Vasquez said Monday the United States has worked closely with the Czech and Polish governments to develop the missile defense system and that it was in no way directed at Russia. "We have offered to cooperate with Russia on missile defense because we believe we face a common threat emanating from the Middle East as well as other areas," Vasquez said. Solovtsov said he was concerned that the United States, which plans to deploy 10 interceptors in Poland, could boost those numbers in the future. The general also said it would take Russia less than six years to build upgraded versions of medium range missiles if Moscow decided to pull out of a 1987 agreement with the U.S. that banned their deployment. "It is not difficult to restore their production," Solovtsov told a news conference. "The missiles were dismantled, but the production technology has remained." Russian military officials have said Moscow's decision to pull out of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty would depend on whether the United States goes ahead with the missile defense plan. The key arms control agreement was negotiated between Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and former President Ronald Reagan. At a European security conference earlier this month, Putin said the treaty was outdated, and that many nations had since developed the medium-range missiles eliminated by Russia and the United States. |
| Posted by:mrp |
| #11 I don't understand the logic: "Putin said the treaty was outdated, and that many nations had since developed the medium-range missiles eliminated by Russia and the United States." "We have offered to cooperate with Russia on missile defense because we believe we face a common threat emanating from the Middle East as well as other areas," Vasquez said." Russia recognizes the problem, but even refuses cooperative defense with us: they're trying to create an issue of conflict for some reason when there really isn't one - why? If something doesn't make sense, you don't know the whole story (except when dealing with Muslims.) |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2007-02-19 20:54 |
| #10 ...Well, look at it this way - we KNOW how to handle the Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2007-02-19 16:19 |
| #9 so now the russians can think again about arming the Iranians in their proxy war against the US. I think its a good move for the USA and real Europeans. |
| Posted by: scampi777 2007-02-19 15:44 |
| #8 After being under Russia's boot for 40 years, I don't think that either the Poles or the Czechs are going to be very moved by their threats. In fact, I think both countries might consider a bilateral agreement that if menaced by Russia, they start to build their own strategic missiles. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2007-02-19 15:28 |
| #7 The Russians really want to be moved into the trash bin of history after pissing everyone off and having the muzzies and Chinese take over, aren't they? |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2007-02-19 15:09 |
| #6 The Russians are about as subtle as a fire engine, ain't they? |
| Posted by: Dave D. 2007-02-19 13:53 |
| #5 The kinder, gentler bear: defending yourself against our missiles is reason enough to attack you. |
| Posted by: Grunter 2007-02-19 13:45 |
| #4 This is a violation of the security guarantees given by the Soviet Union and its legal successor state, The Russian Federation, to Non Nuclear Weapon States (NNWS) that signed the Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT). |
| Posted by: John Frum 2007-02-19 13:40 |
| #3 Once you've had an empire, which the USSR clearly was, it's awfully hard to let client states go their own way. Look at France's behaviour toward Francophone Africa. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2007-02-19 13:38 |
| #2 Are the Russians nuts? Do you really want to go on record asking this? |
| Posted by: Shaiter Thrick2337 2007-02-19 13:36 |
| #1 Threatening a missile attack strikes me as a poor incentive to pass on missile defense. Are the Russians nuts? I would have thought they had much bigger problems to worry about than warlike Poles or Czechs. |
| Posted by: Excalibur 2007-02-19 13:34 |