Word: nato
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...decision to install the main missile site in Poland, which is one of the NATO countries closest to Moscow, has incensed Russia, and it has threatened to destroy the missile site, if it are set up. While the missile system, as currently designed, would be ineffective against the Russian nuclear arsenal, the U.S. has promised Poland, in return for allowing the missile installation, a Patriot missile defense system, which would be aimed at Russia and have the capability to shoot down military planes as well as missiles. Russia sees the missile deal as an opportunity for the U.S. to increase...
...touchy issue not only because of the geographic proximity of nations to Russia, but also because of their former status as satellites of the U.S.S.R. During the Cold War, Poland and the Czech Republic were part of the Warsaw Pact, which the U.S.S.R. formed in response to NATO. After the Cold War ended, however, they aligned themselves with Western Europe, and as of 2007, six of the eight founding Warsaw Pact states had joined NATO and the European Union. Although NATO is no longer officially an enemy of Russia, Russia’s opposition to the NATO membership bids...
...only covers the physical installation of the missile defense system, but also sets up a pact of “mutual commitment” between Poland and the U.S. to aid each other “in case of military or other threats” with greater speed than NATO would provide. This assurance of mutual aid is backed up by the Patriot missiles, which, while they are defensive, would allow Poland to respond to a Russian attack without needing outside assistance. The U.S. still claims that this missile deal is no threat to Russia, but Russia was clearly...
...Russia carried out its threat to bomb the missile sites, then either the United States or NATO would have to respond because of treaty obligations. Even if the missile deal itself does not provoke conflict, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has warned that the deal will lead to “an inevitable arms race” between Russia and the U.S. The U.S. should avoid such provocations as much as possible, without making significant sacrifices to its own security and that of its allies...
...necessity of installing this defense system in Eastern Europe. The U.S. already has a missile system that can defend it against the current threat from North Korea, and E.U. officials have questioned whether Europe faces an immediate threat that calls for a U.S.-run defense system. In April, however, NATO declared its support for the missile defense system, so if Iran’s nuclear capabilities are truly an urgent threat, it should be possible to install the system in a NATO member state farther from Russia’s borders than Poland the Czech Republic...