Missile shield scrapped

[DaRk WaVe]

Missile shield scrapped

The Obama administration has canceled plans to place a missile shield in Poland and the Czech Republic

ollowing months of doubt as to the future of the missile shield, the US has confirmed that such plans will be scrapped.

US Defense Secretary Robert Gates is expected to address a press conference later on Thursday to confirm the decision, the Associated Press reported.

The Czech Republic has already been informed of the decision, according to various news sources, saying that US president Barack Obama has spoken with Czech Prime Minister Jan Fischer to confirm the decision.

Poland in the dark

No confirmation has as yet been received about the Polish portion of the shield – a battery of 10 interceptor missiles – but a US government representative is now in Poland and has discussed the matter with Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski.

Deputy Foreign Minister Andrzej Kremer, who is in charge of the project in Poland, said that there was a high probability that the Polish portion would be canceled as well.

“We know the review of the missile shield is not yet over and in 10 days Deputy Defense Minister Stanisław Komorowski and I will go to Washington to find out. From different sources we hear there are serious chances the shield won't be deployed here,” Mr Kremer told Reuters, commenting on an article about the issue in Thursday's US edition of The Wall Street Journal.

Russian delight

The Russian government, long-time critics of the missile-shield plans, have expressed their satisfaction of the reports.

“If the United States intends to abandon its plans to deploy missile defense elements in Poland and the Czech Republic, this is good news,” an anonymous source from the Russian Foreign Ministry, was quoted as telling the ITAR-TASS news agency.

Warsaw Business Journal - Online Portal - wbj.pl

 

[DaRk WaVe]

US has 'scrapped plan for missile shield in eastern Europe'

Moving to avoid a rift with Moscow, Barack Obama has "all but abandoned" plans to locate parts of a controversial US missile shield in Poland and the Czech Republic, a leading Polish newspaper claimed yesterday.

The Warsaw daily Gazeta Wyborcza said that the Pentagon has been asked to explore switching planned interceptor rocket sites from the two east European states to Israel, Turkey, the Balkans or to mobile launchers on warships. Asked about the claim, a Pentagon spokesman last night said the missile shield plans were still being reviewed. "No final decisions have been made regarding missile defence in Europe" he said.

The threats and rhetoric surrounding the missile defence plans, a key plank of defence policy under the Bush administration, contributed as much as any other issue to the souring of relations between Moscow and Washington in recent years.

In 2007, then-President Vladimir Putin compared the plans to the Cuban Missile Crisis of the 1960s. He warned that if the plan went ahead, Russia would be forced to point nuclear missiles at European cities. Since then, the Kremlin has brushed aside repeated US claims that the shield would be aimed not at Russia but at Iran, North Korea and other rogue states. Moscow has insisted that the shield's deployment would compromise Russian strategic security.

With the Obama administration's promise to "reset" relations with Russia, came the President's decision to launch a strategic review of the defence shield. Controversy erupted earlier this year when rumours surfaced of a secret letter written by Mr Obama to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev allegedly hinting that the White House would back away if Russia offered help on reining in Iran's nuclear ambitions.

Publicly, both sides have insisted that there is no horse-trading to be done over the issue. At a summit in Moscow last month Mr Obama promised only to take Russia's concerns into account. This was nevertheless a marked change of rhetoric. The Bush administration had repeatedly stated that what Russia thought was irrelevant.

US has 'scrapped plan for missile shield in eastern Europe' - Americas, World - The Independent

 

[khanz]

good news best decision they've made in a while

 

[Imran Khan]

great a positive message to russia iran and east keep it up obama.

 

[sergente rehan]

Correct me if i'm wrong but they haven't taken the final decision....atleast i heard this on an Italian news chanel.

Obama still sustains that iranian missile programe is a threat to entire west.

 

[nightcrawler]

I guess there are thoings not going for USA at these times & this decision proves that!!
AS as counter to eastern europe missile shield the Russia was planning to place Iskander missile system now let us look whether this cancellation accompanies the cancellation of Iskander system too.
The USA may have taken Russian missile shield rather more innovative & deadly than there own bcz ballistic missile field in even the Soviet era surpasses USA in many aspects rather it be speed range & of course deliverable warheads