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November 21, 2007

Poland 'reconsiders' Euro-US missile defense deal

By Douglas Hanson

As I predicted three weeks ago, the election of the left-leaning Civic Platform Party to the majority in Poland has prompted "further study" of the strategically important ballistic missile defense agreement. 

Poland was to have hosted 10 missile interceptors, but new Defense Minister Bogdan Klich said that he is reconsidering the plan to see if it is in the "country's best interests" according to the Financial Times (via MSNBC).   Also, new Prime Minister Donald Tusk is apparently not as supportive of the deal as was the previous conservative government.


According to the Dziennik daily, Defense Minister Klich said that,


Warsaw must “weigh the benefits and costs of this project for Poland .  And if that balance results unfavorably, we should draw a conclusion from those results.”
Apparently the concern is that Poland would become more of a target of Putin's wrath if the missile sites are established on Polish soil.  While this is a legitimate concern, one if left wondering why the request for US-made Patriot missile systems was not so much of an issue with the conservative government, which by all indications, did not consider the sale of  Patriot/THAAD as being a showstopper. 

And as the FT article mentions, why Putin would be angry about the ballistic missile defense sites and not the shorter range Patriot remains a mystery.  All of this prompts thoughts of any future agreement being dependent on deep discounts for the sale of the Patriot systems with of course, millions of US dollars being spent for new equipment training, while large numbers of US contract and military personnel get stationed on Polish soil to pump dollars into the local economy.


Klich  also said that the new government would fufill its campaign promise and withdraw the Polish contingent from Iraq.  Although its forces amount to only 900, it is a much needed battalion's worth of troops and the HQs element for  Multi-national Division Central-South .  At least for the time being, count Poland's left as joining the fight against freedom and democracy. 

And see how quickly they forget their ultimate victory in the Cold War thanks to the US and the West.