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Europe
PM: U.S. Wants Base in Czech Republic
2007-01-21
PRAGUE, Czech Republic (AP) - The United States has asked the Czech Republic to host a radar base that would be part of a global missile defense system, the prime minister announced.

Washington declined comment on Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek's statement. But the U.S. has been negotiating with Poland and the Czech Republic, both former communist states now in NATO, as it explores setting up missile defense sites in Eastern Europe.

Topolanek said his government would name a committee in the next week to consider the U.S. request and a decision could take several months. Czech opposition parties have spoken against the defense system, and the premier's governing coalition does not have enough parliament votes to pass measures on its own.

Topolanek said that if the Czech Republic approves the U.S. request, some 200 American specialists would be deployed here and the base would become operational in 2011. "We are convinced that a possible deployment of the radar station on our territory is in our interest," he said. "It will increase security of the Czech Republic and Europe."
The Czech Republic, anyways.
The U.S. request that the Czech Republic host only an X-band radar facility could indicate Washington is considering putting launchers for anti-missile missiles in Poland. Czech authorities refused to comment on Poland's possible role. Topolanek said only that he would discuss the issue with his Polish counterpart, Jaroslaw Kaczynski.

In Moscow, Andrei Kokoshin, the former Russian Security Council chief who now heads parliament's committee for ties with former Soviet bloc nations, warned that Czech approval of the plan would "not pass without consequences." Russian lawmakers dealing with security issues "will recommend taking retaliatory measures" that would "help maintain strategic stability and ensure the national security of Russia and our friends and allies," Kokoshin was quoted as telling the Interfax news agency.

A State Department spokesman, Edgar Vasquez, told The Associated Press he could not confirm that the Czechs had been asked to host the radar site and Poles the missile interceptors. He only repeated that negotiations were under way. "Depending on the result of the discussions, the U.S. will seek to field a limited number of ground-based missile defense silo launchers, with their associated interceptors, similar to those currently fielded at Fort Greely, Alaska, and to deploy an X-band radar for midcourse tracking and discrimination of ballistic missile threats out of the Middle East," he said.
Posted by:Steve White

#10  ...I'd like a hot young Russian wife. Damn....I always get on the tail end of these trends
Posted by: Frank G   2007-01-21 21:15  

#9  And considering the levels of crime, drugs, alcoholism, the decaying infrastructure, and the rotten attitude towards women by Russian men, lots of luck with that desired baby boom. Plus, the life expectancy of Russian men is now down to 59, so even if Russia had Social Security, the average Russian male would not live long enough to collect. Also, lots of middle-aged men in Russia do not have the skills to compete in an open economy, so they do not have the income for families. That is one point that has been driving the Russian mail-order bride boom : lots of middle-aged American men have the money for a family, plus the wife gets to come to the US. So what you get is a lot of mediocre looking middle aged US men with really hot younger Russian wives. And until Putin or his successor can turn all of the above around, the demographic falloff will continue.
Posted by: Shieldwolf   2007-01-21 20:41  

#8  Out here o'er WESTPAC, US SPACE LASER TESTING still goes on - the energy streams is getting longer and thicker, i.e. are improving and improvin'. STEYN/LAVROZOV/OTHER > gener, unless Russian demographics turns around, reverting back to Soviet Totalitarianism = USSR isn't likely to save Russia despite temp improvements. CHRISTIAN, trad EURO/WEST CENTRIC RUSSIA > become MOSTLY MUSLIM, CHINA/ASIA-CENTRIC. Short of forcibly keeping his own nation hostage, Putin has to convince Russians to stay and have sex.
Posted by: JosephMendiola   2007-01-21 20:07  

#7  "Posting" PIMF.
Posted by: Alaska Paul   2007-01-21 14:38  

#6  Jackal has the main point. It is another means to detect Iranian missiles in the boost phase, which is the next best thing to hitting them on the ground. PootyPoot is so intent on playing his KGB/USSR act redux that he cannot see the danger of Iran if/when it turns on his country.

Of course the best solution is to take out the MMs and their Dinnerjacket, after their issuing of innumerable death threats to the US and Israel, but that is a topic for another posing, along with lots of beer.
Posted by: Alaska Paul   2007-01-21 14:37  

#5  I think the entire idea is to protect US interests in Europe, including NATO and US forces in Germany, Italy, Great Britain, and elsewhere. We want to be able to stop any Iranian missile attack, and it's also a sneaky way to protect ourselves against military blackmail and even a possible attack by Russia. I'd like to see a similar group of sites in Central Asia (India, Thailand), sub-Saharan Africa (Ethiopia? Malawi?), and just to make EVERYBODY angry, in Brazil and Hawaii.
Posted by: Old Patriot   2007-01-21 12:55  

#4  I agree with Jackel. Even Germany is now within reach of Iran's missiles, from what i am able to understand. Defence against Russian ambitions would be secondary. Or course, Prime Minister Putin would prefer that his legitimate prey not be able to defend against his best customer's toys.
Posted by: trailing wife   2007-01-21 12:03  

#3  Though they could protect Europe, they sound more like a boost-phase weapon, which have to be close to the source, (i.e., Iran). The Atlantic is too far away, while the Persian Gulf is the wrong direction (unless you go waaaay inside). If, Pooty-poot would let us put weapons on the Caspian Sea, that would be ideal...
Posted by: Jackal   2007-01-21 09:06  

#2  Vlad Putin and the Empire Reborn.
Posted by: gromgoru   2007-01-21 05:26  

#1  Why would we want missile defense in Poland? Are we still trying to protect Europe?

If its for possible threats against the U.S. from the Middle East, wouldn't Israel or ships in the Atlantic make more sense?

Help me out Rantburgers, what am I missing?
Posted by: Mike N.   2007-01-21 04:22  

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