Poland says US president-elect Barack Obama will not reverse Washington’s stance on the issue of missile defense adopted by George W. Bush.

Poland says US president-elect Barack Obama will not reverse Washington’s stance on the issue of missile defense adopted by George W. Bush.

“He (Obama)…said the anti-missile shield project would go ahead,” Polish President Lech Kaczynski was quoted by AFP as saying on Saturday having spoken to the Illinois senator on the phone.

The famous Bush doctrine advises preemptive measures under the banner of securing the country. Hence Washington’s jumping the gun in its ‘fight against terrorism’ under the outgoing president.

Already under attack for using the mentality to explain surges in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Bush administration came up with he idea of partial installation of a global missile defense shield in Eastern Europe as a precaution against ‘rogue states such as Iran and North Korea’.

According to the measure, Poland and the Czech Republic have been designated to respectively house 10 interceptor missiles and a tracking radar by 2011-2013. The defense facilities would complement related apparatuses in the United States, Greenland and Britain.

“Barack Obama has underlined the importance of the strategic partnership between Poland and the United States, he expressed his hope of continuing the political and military cooperation between our two countries,” Kaczynski added.

Russia, wary of the move, intends to enhance its nuclear deterrent and equip the missile brigades on its westernmost borders with Iskander-M missile system fitted with precision-guided tactical SS-26 Stone missiles.

The move has as well caused widespread public and political unrest in either eastern European country. The Polish opposition has enforced a legal examination of the agreements.

On Friday, the country’s Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski called a Czech ratification ‘distant’. “Ratification in the Czech Republic is more important, since the US said that without that radar the Polish installation will be useless,” Sikorski added, Interfax reported.

The minister also noted that Washington may any time shelve the missile projects due to financial shortages.

HN/RA