http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/15/world/europe/16poland.html wrote:
WASHINGTON — The United States and Poland reached a long-stalled deal on Thursday to place an American missile defense base on Polish territory, in the strongest reaction so far to Russia’s military operation in Georgia.
Russia reacted angrily, saying that the move would worsen relations with the United States that have already been strained severely in the week since Russian troops entered separatist enclaves in Georgia, a close American ally. At a news conference on Friday, a senior Russian defense official, Col. Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn, suggested that Poland was making itself a target by agreeing to host the anti-missile system. Such an action “cannot go unpunished,†he said.
Russia reacted angrily, saying that the move would worsen relations with the United States that have already been strained severely in the week since Russian troops entered separatist enclaves in Georgia, a close American ally. At a news conference on Friday, a senior Russian defense official, Col. Gen. Anatoly Nogovitsyn, suggested that Poland was making itself a target by agreeing to host the anti-missile system. Such an action “cannot go unpunished,†he said.
I hadn't heard much (ok, practically nothing) about such negotiations with Poland until recently, but it's obvious the purpose of closing the deal now is to indirectly confront Russia's recent aggression in the region. However, what strikes me as odd is that Russia would go so far as to publicly declare the installation and operation of a missile defense system a punishable act. Are we staring down the barrel of another potential cold war era?
Quote:
Russia has long opposed the deal, saying the United States was violating post-cold-war agreements not to base its troops in former Soviet bloc states and devising a Trojan Horse system designed to counter Russia’s nuclear ******** not an attack by Iran or another adversary.
Stop-and-start negotiations over the arrangement that was sealed Thursday had been under way for almost two years, with the Polish government reluctant to press the deal in the face of strong opposition — and retaliatory threats — from Moscow.
Stop-and-start negotiations over the arrangement that was sealed Thursday had been under way for almost two years, with the Polish government reluctant to press the deal in the face of strong opposition — and retaliatory threats — from Moscow.
Is Russia really willing to go to war over defense contracts by cooperative nations in response to it's recent aggression in the region? Do you think Poland will back out of the deal if pressured enough by Russia? How will this affect Russia's political influence in the region?
Edited, Aug 16th 2008 2:34am by BrownDuck