Czech Republic, United States sign accord for missile defence shield

Paris: The United States and the Czech Republic have inked an initial agreement Tuesday that will allow the US to build a radar station southwest of Prague. The radar station, already the cause of a contentious face-off between the US and the Russian Republic, is meant to act as part of an anti-ballistic missile defence system located in Eastern Europe. The second half of this system is to be based in Poland, though agreement has so far eluded the two countries.

The Polish base will host a battery of ten interceptor missiles. 

"It is an agreement for friends and allies who face a common threat in the 21st century and wish to address it through the application of the best defensive technologies that we can bring to bear," secretary of state Condoleezza Rice said after signing the agreement at a ceremony in the Czech capital.

The United States claims that the system is designed to protect Europe against attack by Iran and other enemies, but the plan has drawn intense criticism within Europe and from Russia. While European critics dub the whole installation as being unnecessary, Russia has always said that the system is essentially aimed at its defences rather than any Middle East threat.  It views the move as destabilizing and a threat to its security.

The system's radar, according to the Russians, is capable of looking deep into Russian airspace and targeting its missiles. This could weaken its military deterrents and heighten regional instability.

US officials insist that the defence shield would be useless against the massed strategic missiles of the Russian arsenal, and effective only against the relatively few of a regional power, such as Iran. The US has also offered to give Russian military experts access to the facilities.

Rice made a pointed reference to Russian criticism on Tuesday. "We have made the point to our Russian colleagues," she said, "that we all face the threat from states like Iran that continue to pursue missiles of ever-longer range, and we must be in a position to respond."

The US position will now receive some validity from an Iranian missile test that included a new long range missile, Shahab-3, which can travel 2,000 km.

The contentious system was only recently endorsed by the NATO alliance at a meeting in April.

Construction of the proposed $3.5 billion defence system may begin next year and become operational around 2012. However, the plan still has hurdles to cross and not all of it comes from Russia.

Recent opinion polls reveal that about two-thirds of Czech citizens oppose hosting the missile-tracking stations, including members of the Green Party, which is a junior member of the coalition government. A second agreement between the United States and the Czech Republic, which will allow US soldiers to be stationed at the radar site is yet to be signed.

Poland, the other half of the two-pronged system, is still negotiating with the US. It is reportedly demanding multi-million-dollar security guarantees from the United States.

Critics in both Poland and the Czech Republic are concerned that the network could place them at risk from Russia.