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Poles Skeptical Of U.S. Plan For Missile Defense System

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By RYAN LUCAS, The Associated Press

Published: January 20, 2008

REDZIKOWO, Poland - Among the people living around this disused Polish air base, there is little enthusiasm for the missile interceptor station likely to be built here as part of a U.S. missile defense system.

Poland's new government is sounding increasingly skeptical about the plan, arguing it won't boost Polish security, and that sentiment is echoed throughout this farming region near the Baltic Sea coast.

The main fear is that the area will become a target for retaliation by Russia, which vigorously opposes President Bush's plan.

"If they build the missile defense base here, it'll be a magnet and the first place the Russians will shoot their missiles," said Tadeusz Krajnik, a 55-year-old retired air force technician who lives in one of the communist-era apartment blocs next to the base. "Let's tell the truth here: It's not aimed against Iran, or against Vietnam or whatever - it's against Russia."

The United States wants to place 10 missile interceptors in Poland and a radar base in the Czech Republic, but has wrestled with perceptions since it began negotiating with the two governments early last year.

Washington says the system is needed to defend the United States and Europe against long-distance threats from countries such as Iran. Russia argues that such an installation so close to its territory would threaten its security.

Last year, Gen. Nikolai Solovtsov, head of Russia's missile forces, warned that Moscow could target future bases in Poland and the Czech Republic with Russian missiles.

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