But funny title, right?
"Poland may shift stance on US missile shield; Leaders not ready to OK American plans, aide says" by Judy Dempsey, International Herald Tribune | January 7, 2008
BERLIN - Signaling a shift in Polish foreign policy, Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski said the new Warsaw government was not prepared to accept US plans to deploy part of its antiballistic missile shield in Poland until all costs and risks were considered.
Sikorski, in an interview published in the weekend edition of the newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza, challenged the US view that some of the biggest threats facing the security of Europe and the United States are from "rogue states" in the Middle East, including Iran:
"This is an American, not a Polish project. We feel no threat from Iran."
You know, neither do I!
The deployment of the US missile shield has become such a contentious issue between the United States and Russia - and indeed between Poland and Russia - that President Vladimir Putin of Russia has warned of a new arms race if Washington proceeds with deployment in Poland and the Czech Republic.
The new approach on missile defense taken by Poland's new center-right coalition government, under Prime Minister Donald Tusk, reflects a different negotiating strategy from the previous nationalist-conservative government led by Jaroslaw Kaczynski.
Kaczynski, who was much more pro-American, had in principle agreed to deploy several interceptors on Polish territory without going into detail. He had consented in principle to accept parts of the US shield, but no formal agreements have been signed.
Tusk and Sikorski have repeatedly said they want to improve relations with Russia."
Why are we losing friends everywhere, readers?
