US Missile Deal May Face Obstacles

The problem shifts as Poles vote and Czechs listen to their
constituents.

Critics say no such system is needed in the foreseeable future because
no country in the Middle East, including Iran, now possesses a
ballistic missile with sufficient range to threaten all of Europe or
the United States.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wire/ats-ap_top11oct23,0,6936801.story?coll=la-ap-topnews-headlines
US Missile Deal May Face Obstacles
By ROBERT BURNS
AP Military Writer

12:14 AM PDT, October 23, 2007

PRAGUE, Czech Republic - The Bush administration wants deals by the
end of the year for missile defense bases in Eastern Europe, but
getting the Czech Republic and Poland to go along with that timetable
could be difficult.

Poland's opposition party ousted ruling conservatives in parliamentary
elections on Sunday, though Defense Secretary Robert Gates suggested
Monday he still believes Warsaw will cooperate.

The Pentagon wants to install 10 interceptor rockets in Poland which,
when linked to a proposed tracking radar in the Czech Republic and to
other elements of the existing U.S. missile defense system based in
the United States, could defend all of Europe against a long-range
missile fired from the Middle East.

Gates planned to hold talks Tuesday in Prague with top government
officials as well as members of parliament representing a range of
views on missile defense, which is not popular with the general Czech
public.

Gates, asked about possible ramifications of the Polish elections for
the Pentagon's missile defense expansion plan, said the United States
has enjoyed good cooperation from Poland regardless of the makeup of
its government.

The Polish opposition doesn't oppose hosting a U.S. missile base, but
has criticized the outgoing government for not taking a tougher stance
in negotiations.

"I expect that cooperation to continue," Gates said in Kiev, Ukraine,
while making no firm prediction. "Obviously we'll have discussions
with the new government of Poland in terms of their specific plans. We
clearly are hopeful that the kind of cooperation we've enjoyed
recently -- both in Iraq and Afghanistan on the one hand, and in
moving toward negotiating an agreement on missile defense -- will
continue as before."

Critics say no such system is needed in the foreseeable future because
no country in the Middle East, including Iran, now possesses a
ballistic missile with sufficient range to threaten all of Europe or
the United States.

The Bush administration's negotiations with the Czech Republic and
Poland are being run mainly by the State Department. Pentagon
officials have said the goal is to reach a deal by the end of the year
and to gain parliamentary approval in both European countries by next
spring, allowing construction to begin.

The aim is to have both missile defense sites ready for limited
operation by 2011 and fully operational by 2013. Russia strongly
opposes the U.S. system, including the planned expansion into Europe.
Earlier this month, President Vladimir Putin urged Washington to
freeze negotiations with Warsaw and Prague.

Many in Congress also oppose adding the two European sites.

While in Prague, Gates also was expected to discuss with Czech
officials the future of their country's contributions to the wars in
Iraq and Afghanistan. The Czech Republic has troops in both countries.

It was Gates' first trip to the Czech Republic and the first by a U.S.
defense secretary since Donald Rumsfeld in 2002.

During his stop in Kiev on Monday, Gates set the stage for potentially
tough talks later this week at a NATO meeting in the Netherlands by
publicly criticizing European members of the U.S.-led alliance for
failing to provide the extra troops that their governments promised
last year for security duties in Afghanistan.

The main shortfall is in troops to serve as trainers for the Afghan
National Army and the Afghan police.

Gates said he intended to pursue the matter at the NATO defense
ministers meeting Wednesday and Thursday at a Dutch seaside hotel.

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