A special US-Polish task force is meeting in Warsaw to discuss the new anti-missile defence project to replace the missile shield plans abandoned last month. Instead of a missile launcher in Poland and a radar in the Czech Republic - as was rejected by President Obama last month - the US administration wants to locate mobile SM3 interceptors in Europe. An official proposal was forwarded to Warsaw last week.
Polish negotiators will require hard facts about the new system, says Deputy Defence Minister Stanisław Komorowski: "We have many questions. Today we are seizing the opportunity to ask them so as to specify the proposal," the minister told Polish Radio. "And we hope to gain very precise information about these plans - this is one of the issues the session is centered on today." It was announced last week that the plan to install a battery of Patriot missiles will also be going ahead, with up to 100 American troops being stationed in Poland. The Polish-US group will conclude negotiations tomorrow. More talks on the issue are expected to take place next week as US Vice President Joe Biden is to fly to Warsaw, where he will meet Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
Yesterday, the Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak, while on a visit to Warsaw, said the new ship-based system would help stave off Iranian threats, especially now that Tehran has been testing short, mid and long range missiles. "The new approach [from the US] really provides more flexibility and, in a relatively short time, a much more effective, economical way to deal effectively with the challenge of missiles from Iran," Barak said, referring to Obama's rejection of the previous Bush anti-missile system, which was to be staged in Poland and the Czech Republic.