Poles Polled on Missile Defense Base, Support Drops
Last summer, an AP poll revealed that 58 percent of Poles supported the missile defense deal with the U.S., and 37 percent said the deal was bad for Poland. Xinhua reports the latest poll results. Forty-seven percent oppose the deal, while 39 percent support it. Fifty-four percent of Polish citizens believe the base would increase their country’s risk of a terrorist attack.
Why has support for the base dropped? The likely answer is that Poles are taking Russia’s threat to install missiles near their country’s border seriously. As you know, the U.S. and Poland formally sealed a deal to deploy missile defense shields to the Central European country back in August. Russia perceives the future base as a threat, while we maintain it’s necessary for Poland’s defense against rogue states like Iran and North Korea.
