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Czech opposition to US missile system grows: poll
Prague (AFP) March 19, 2009 Czech opposition to the installation of a US anti-missile radar system in their country has grown, as a record 70 percent now reject the project, a poll showed Thursday. Only 25 percent of those polled back the project, according to the survey conducted by the official polling institute CVVM in February. In January, 65 percent opposed the plan, which has angered Russia. "Results since 2006 show that Czechs are constantly opposed to this project," CVVM said, adding that the opposition has ranged between 61 percent and now 70 percent. Nearly three in four Czechs, or 72 percent, say that the project should be put to a referendum, but Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek has opted to go the parliamentary route. The survey was conducted between February 2-9 among 1,133 Czechs aged 15 and older. Prague and Washington last year signed two deals for the installment of a missile radar southwest of Prague that would link to two other facilities in Poland. Topolanek has backed the project since he came to power in 2006 but several Czech politicians are worried that Washington may re-think the plan under the new administration of President Barack Obama. The plan has enraged Moscow, master of Poland and the then Czechoslovakia during the Cold War. Both countries broke from the crumbling communist bloc in 1989, joined NATO in 1999 and the European Union in 2004. But Washington says the shield -- endorsed by NATO in February -- is aimed at fending off potential attacks by so-called "rogue states" such as Iran, and is in no way aimed at Russia. Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links Learn about missile defense at SpaceWar.com Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com All about missiles at SpaceWar.com Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com
Outside View: Radar shield at risk
Arlington, Va. (UPI) Mar 3, 2009 "Do you think those U.S. Navy warships are out there on vacation?" one Saudi leader was said to have asked Iranian ruler Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during a recent crisis. Aircraft carriers and surface ships do a lot for U.S. diplomacy just by showing up. But there's a complication on the horizon. Cruise missile attack is a growing risk. The U.S. Navy had a good plan to offset that, but it's drifting because of unforeseen cuts to the E-2D radar surveillance plane. |
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