Russia Troubled by U.S. Plans to Establish ’Star Wars’ Bases in Europe

MosNews
May. 23, 2006

Russian senior officials voice concern about U.S. plans to build an anti-missile defense system in central Europe. Washington claims that anti-missile site in Europe is needed to stop a ballistic missile threat from Iran, while Moscow charges U.S. with intension to expand it’s presence in the ex-Warsaw Pact nation.

“Go ahead and build that shield. You have to think, though, what will fall on your heads afterwards. I do not foresee a nuclear conflict between Russia and the West. We do not have such plans,” Russian general Yuri Baluyevsky is quoted by The EU Observer.

About the intension of the Bush Administration to establish so-called ’Star Wars’ bases reported Tuesday The EU Observer. The new scheme is the latest chapter in the 20 year-old U.S. missile defense program, referred to as “Star Wars”, and is intended to thwart a potential attack from the Middle-East.

A recommendation on a European site is expected to be made this summer to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Pentagon officials say. The Pentagon has asked Congress for $56 million to begin work on the long-envisioned anti-missile site, a request that has some opposition in Congress. The final cost is estimated at $1.6 billion, The Washington Post reported Monday.

Poland and the Czech Republic have been singled out as possible sites for the missile interceptors, with strongly pro-U.S. Poland already expressing a will to sign a contract with Washington, it would be the first permanent U.S. military presence on that nation’s soil. The Czech Republic has avoided public discussion of the US project, out of fears it could become an issue in parliamentary elections next month.

A Russian general, Yuri Baluyevsky, warned that the anti-missile site could draw Poland into the U.S.’ far-flung military adventures. “However, it is understandable that countries that are part of such a shield increase their risk”, he added.

Russian experts from “Nezavisimoe voennoe obozrenie” newspaper (Independent military survey) are also concerned about the possible deployment of American missiles in Europe. They believe that anti-missile site in Europe is planned not against any possible threats from the Middle East. “Star Wars” bases would give the U.S. possibility to control the entire territory of Russia, concludes the author.

Nine interceptors already have been installed at Fort Greely, Alaska, and two at Vandenberg Air Force Base in Santa Barbara County as part of a multilayered system planned by the Pentagon. The Fort Greely and Vandenberg sites are primarily oriented against potential threats from North Korea.