The Nation: Renewing the Cold War

[marmar]

BLOG | Posted 12/03/2007 @ 7:25pm
Renewing the Cold War



This past June, Katrina vanden Heuvel blogged about President Bush's plan to deploy a proposed a missile defense system in both the Czech Republic and Poland despite the reluctance of the host countries, where public opinion polls show most Czechs opposing the planned base as well as the little fact, as amply reported, that the system's technology doesn't yet work.

The project is also a bad idea because it's a blatant provocation to Russia which has fiercely opposed US plans to deploy new missile defenses in Poland and the Czech Republic, asking that Washington use radars on Russian soil to counter possible missile threats from Iran. The two countries have held a series of talks on the issue, but so far the US has been un-accepting of a compromise.

This past November 16 a group of peace activists, organized by the Campaign for Peace and Democracy, presented a statement of support to Ambassador Martin Palous at the Permanent Mission of the Czech Republic to the UN in Manhattan. It was presented in support of Czech demonstrations against a military base the US and Czech Republic plan to set up near Prague for radar for an anti-missile system that will be based in Poland.

The letter is posted below. It details numerous good reasons to oppose the base plan. Click here to join Naomi Klein, Noam Chomsky, Ariel Dorfman, Katha Pollitt and many others in signing on in support of the statement. ......(more)

The statement is at: http://www.thenation.com/blogs/actnow?bid=4&pid=256556