The Polish Question

I was rather upset about the manner the Obama administration cancelled the Bush plan for missile defense in eastern Europe and the decision to eliminate that particular system. It was a two-fer of harming our ability to defend American territory and a betrayal of our eastern NATO allies.

At least we seem to be working to reassure the Poles on the value of NATO membership:

The US and Poland have reached an agreement to station an American antimissile defense system on Polish soil two months after plans to install a more robust missile system in Poland and the Czech Republic were scrapped in the face of intense Russian opposition. But the close military cooperation between the US and Poland, including US troops in the country, means the deal is likely to remain a major concern for Russia.

The deployment, under a new Status of Forces Agreement reached between Poland and the US, calls for US troops to install and operate a mobile, land-based set of short- and medium-range missiles to defend against incoming attacks.

The equipment includes SM-3 IA missiles and a MIM-104 Patriot mobile missile battery. Both types of missile are designed to shoot down short- and medium-range ballistic missiles. The missiles could arrive in Poland as soon as the first quarter of 2010.

I'd be happier with actual NATO plans to defend eastern NATO, but this is a step.

And it will be interesting to see if Russia finds a reason to oppose this plan, too.