Polish/Czech Missile Shields Officially Dead?
We saw it coming.
He hemmed and hawed and hinted for months. He cut missile defense by $1.4 billion. He was more concerned with appeasing Russia than honoring our agreements and protecting weaker nations. Today’s news isn’t news to people who’ve been following events.
We blogged last month that a Polish newspaper, Gazeta Wyborcza, reported that sources in the U.S. confirmed the Obama administration would abandon missile defense shields in Central Europe. Today the decision is all but re-confirmed. Without hearing it directly from the horse’s mouth, we can say with 90 percent certainty that the president indeed has abandoned missile defense plans in Poland and the Czech Republic. (Associated Press)
According to the AP, Czech Premier Jan Fischer said he spoke with Obama on the telephone, who said the U.S. will not go through with the deal.
Last August, Poland and the U.S. came to an agreement. The U.S would deploy 10 missile interceptors to the country. The U.S. and the Czech Republic reached a radar installation agreement in July. Part of President George Bush’s “third site” effort to boost Central Europe’s defenses against rogue states like Iran, the missile shield agreements were a source of contention between the U.S. and Russia. The former Soviet Union claimed, rather disingenuously, that both bases would pose a threat to its national security.
Bush stood firm against Russia’s accusations and tried to assure leaders that nothing could be further from the truth. The shields would strengthen transatlantic security against the evolving Middle Eastern ballistic missile threat, allowing us to extend our own security umbrella to our European allies.
After Barack Obama was elected, those who supported the shields knew it was only a matter of time that the new president would not only scale back defense, but likely renege on our agreements with Poland and the Czech Republic. Months ago, he offered Russia a “secret” deal: We’d cancel our plans in exchange for Russia’s help with Iran. Russia refused to issue tougher sanctions against Iran, but oddly enough, Obama abandoned the bases anyway.
Russia got what it wanted without offering anything in return. Putin must be overjoyed.
Tags: Barack Obama, Czech Republic, George Bush, Poland, Russia