Poland in harder bargain with US on missile defense
Updated: 2008-01-21 21:20
Poland, currently in talks with the United States over the establishing of a US missile defense base on its territory, has switched to a more hard-line stance and raised its demands in exchange for agreeing to host the base.
Polish Defense Minister Bogdan Klich has said Washington needs to provide more security for Poland if it wants Warsaw to agree the installation of 10 US missile interceptors in the country.
The demand came amid fears that Poland would become a potential target of attacks.
The US said the interceptors in Poland and a radar base in the neighboring Czech Republic it planned to set are to protect the US and Europe against potential attacks from what it called "rogue" states.
There are worries in Poland that the national security may be threatened if the country host US missile defense bases.
Such worries have fueled opposition to the US missile defense plan in Poland, where latest polls show 57 percent of the people object to the plan.
New Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Poland would not agree to host the US base unless Washington guarantees its national security.
Polish officials have seen a need to upgrade the country's air defenses out of security concerns. Klich has said Poland would like the US to provide new air defense systems like Patriot missiles.
"We believe that the injection of American funds into the modernization of our armed forces would balance the risk to our security linked to the construction of the base," he said.
Many analysts believe Poland's request for new air defense systems comes as a response to the popular demand regarding security and highlights a better position for Poland in its talks with the Bush administration.
The Bush administration, worried about possible changes in US foreign policy after presidential elections this year, is pushing for an early start to the work in eastern Europe.
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