By Jan Lopatka
PRAGUE, July 6 (Reuters) - The Czech Republic and the United
States will sign a treaty on Tuesday to build a missile defence
radar on Czech soil despite opposition at home and in Russia.
Washington wants to build the radar southwest of Prague and
put 10 interceptor rockets in neighbouring Poland as a part of a
defence shield it says will protect the United States and
European allies from threats from "rogue states" such as Iran.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will sign the deal
in Prague, but the plan faces some hurdles.
Talks with Poland have so far failed over Warsaw's demands
for U.S. finance to help modernise its army, and the Czech
treaty will face opposition in parliament.
The Czech government said the shield would offer further
protection on the top of the country's NATO and EU membership.
"Missile technology is spreading around the world," Czech
Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg told Reuters. "The threat
is not totally acute, but one has to prepare in time."
Russia sees the shield as a threat, and has said it will aim
its nuclear missiles at central Europe if the shield is
deployed. The United States says the 10 rockets are no match for
Russia's nuclear arsenal.
Analysts say that bases in the former Soviet bloc would
raise U.S. security interest in the region at a time when Russia
grows more assertive about its role on the global scene.
"While Washington's concerns about Iran are real, it's also
true that in setting up these missile defence components, the
United States will have a direct stake in the security of
central and eastern Europe," said Alexander Kliment, an analyst
at Eurasia Group, a U.S. political risk consultancy.
Disputes over the radar have alienated many Czechs, wary of
any foreign military presence after the Soviet invasion in 1968
and the following two decades of occupation.
An opinion poll last month showed 68 percent of Czechs were
against the shield, while 24 percent supported it.
Anti-radar activists say the radar will make the Czech
Republic a target and undermine its security.
The leftist opposition in parliament has channelled the
public discontent, and ratification is uncertain.
The three-party cabinet has just 100 seats in the 200-seat
lower house and several backbenchers have said they would vote
against. The government must win over several independents.
"I am convinced that responsibility will prevail and a
majority will stand behind (the radar)," Deputy Prime Minister
Alexander Vondra told Czech Television.
The Green Party, a junior government partner, says
ratification should be delayed until a new U.S. administration
takes over from President George W. Bush early next year.
Unlike the Czechs, Poland has demanded billions of dollars
for the modernisation of their army, mainly air defences. Prime
Minister Donald Tusk said on Friday U.S. proposals were
insufficient but Poland was ready to negotiate further.
(Editing by Elizabeth Piper)
(For a factbox on missile defence, click on [])
