The ship-based SM-3 missile, now being modified for land-based uses:

Will the Kremlin find this any more palatable than the previous system?

 

 

Rzeczpospolita, Poland

Poland Agrees to Accept Modified U.S. Missile Shield

 

"Poland is needed on the world stage, not just as a country in need of help. We have become a partner in the eyes of the United States, and are expected to be active and share responsibility for the good that should be done in the world."

 

-- Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk

 

By Piotr Gillert and Wojciech Lorenz

 

Translated By Halszka

 

October 22, 2009

 

Poland - Rzeczpospolita - Original Article (Polish)

Warsaw welcomed Joseph Biden with rain and cold, but the American guest had many warm words to say about our country. “Poland is one of our closest allies. We share the same values and ideals,” said Biden after meeting with Prime Minister Donald Tusk. “Poland is in our hearts,” he insisted during a joint appearance with President Lech Kaczyński.

 

[Biden's quotes are translated - an English-language transcript of Biden's original remarks does not appear available].

 

Biden came to Poland to erase the bad impression left by the inept presentation of changes to the concept of anti-missile shield by the new administration and to confirm a new American offer. Prime Minister Tusk announced yesterday that our country has accepted it. “Poland is ready to participate in the SM-3 project,” said Tusk.

 

[Editor's Note: The SM-3 missile is a ship-based anti-ballistic missile used as part of the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System. It seems that these are to be modified and will be land-based in Poland].

 

'AN ACTIVE PARTNER'

 

As Tusk explained after his meeting with Biden, Poland is needed “on the world stage, not just as a country in need of help.” He added: “We have become a partner in the eyes of the United States, and are expected to be active and share responsibility for the good that should be done in the world.”

Posted by WORLDMEETS.US

 

His guest seemed was visibly pleased with that statement. “The United States appreciates that Poland has taken this step and has agreed to the deployment of elements of the system,” Biden said, adding that the shield will serve not only America, but the greater security of NATO and Poland. He also assured that the U.S. treats takes its obligations to its allies very seriously. As Polish diplomats told Rzeczpospolita, Warsaw didn't expect the particulars during this visit, but rather a formal confirmation of the American will to deploy a modified system of SM-3 missiles in Poland.

 

According to Wess Mitchell, Co-Founder and Director of Research of the Center for European Policy Analysis, Biden’s visit is of considerable importance. “This is a step in the right direction. The Allies in Central Europe had to be informed about what this new concept in anti-missile defense is all about, and a solid offer for them to participate in the scheme had to be made. The offer is now on the table and it's an honest one, but its still too far in the future for details to be of much importance. The main thing is that the U.S. has shown its allies that it is a reliable partner that delivers on its obligations,” Mitchell told Rzeczpospolita.

 

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Vice President Joe Biden

in Warsaw, Oct. 21. Mission accomplished for Biden?

[CLICK HERE OR CLICK PHOTO TO WATCH BBC NEWS COVERAGE ]

 

SEE ALSO ON THIS:  

Dziennik, Poland: 'Live American Shields' are Better than Bush's Missile Defense System  

Financial Times Deutschland: Missile Shield Editorials: 'Time for Confrontation is Over'

Der Spiegel, Germany: Biden Seeks to Smooth Feathers in 'New Europe'  

Yezhednevniy Zhurnal, Russia: Should We Praise or 'Curse Those Treacherous Yankees'?  

Gazeta, Russia: After the Shield: Time for Kremlin to Bring Itself to Reciprocate

Novosti, Russia: Iran Can't Be 'Swapped' for Halt to U.S. Missile Defense  

Nezavisimaya Gazeta, Russia: Medvedev 'Confesses' His Plans Differ from Putin's    

Rzeczpospolita, Poland: Obama's Russia 'Gambit'

Gazeta Wyborcza, Poland: Obama's Lesson: Poland Can't Count on the United States

Rzeczpospolita, Poland: Banish All 'Magical Thinking' Regarding the Russian Bear

Gazeta Wyborcza, Poland: Missile Shield Talks: How the Bush Team Lost Poland

Sydsvenskan, Sweden: Obama's Anti-Missile Gambit Pursued for the Greater Good

Le Monde, France: Obama's Missile Policy Change a Shrewd Gambit

Der Spiegel, Germany : 'Russian Euphoria' at Obama's Decision To Shelve Missile Shield

The Times, U.K.: 'Dismay in Europe' as Obama Ditches Missile Shield

Novosti, Russia: Russia's NATO Envoy Warns Against 'Childish Euphoria' Over Shield

 

 

“We have reason to be satisfied,” was Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski’s take on the Biden’s visit, according to Polsat News. Sikorski also announced that in November he will go to Washington, where he will likely talk to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

 

SOME DIFFICULTIES

 

As representatives of the American Administration stressed yesterday, no one yet knows exactly what missiles with end up in Poland. What is clear is that the project will be implemented beginning after 2015 and should be finished by 2018. This will be the next phase of modernization of the system, which is currently centered exclusively on ship-based SM-3 rocket launchers. The deadline for the implementation of these changes is the source of some discomfort for Warsaw. Another issue is ongoing talks on the status of American troops in Poland. Although both sides declare their readiness for the agreement, they have failed to arrive at a common position on a number of points, including criminal liability for American forces in Poland. “There are a few difficulties here; hopefully they will be solved through compromise,” the Polish president said after meeting with Joe Biden. 

Posted by WORLDMEETS.US

 

But Defense Minister Aleksander Szczygło was critical of the prime minister’s declaration. “The prospect of six to nine years before the shield comes into existence is quite remote. I am astonished by the prime minister’s declaration. It's a pity that the government didn't accept the previous agreement with similar speed. It is amazing that it has agreed to something so far in the future, while talks on the status of the American forces drag on - which is necessary for the installation of Patriot missile batteries in Poland and for any American military presence on our territory,” Szczygło told Rzeczpospolita.

 

CLICK HERE FOR POLISH VERSION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Posted by WORLDMEETS.US October 26, 5:26pm]