US hopes to sell allies on missile system idea

[nodular]

This missile defense thing keeps getting worse. The idea that we would ahead in opposition to both Russia AND NATO underlines the folly of our current defense strategy.



information from the Chicago Tribune (no web reference):

US officials will brief skeptical NATO officials in Brussels on Thursday about the missile shield they are trying to set up in Poland and the Czech Republic. Last month, Bush spoke to Putin about it on the phone, trying to explain the objectives. US officials say it is purely defensive.

"But as the Brussels meetings have approached, top Defense Department officials have threatened to move forward despite Russian concerns and indicated that NATO objections would not necessarily stop the project...

"France, Spain, and Slovakia have all voiced concerns about the plan...

"The defense system received important backing this week when the German defense minister, Franz Josef Jung, told members of the European Parliament's Foreign Affiars Committee that the system could play an important 'protecting role' for Europe."

There is widespread public opposition in teh Czech Republic and Poland, but the governments are enthusiastic about the project.