Das aktuelle "Spiel": Der Schlauheit von Putin "Aserbaidschan statt Polen" wird nun begegnet durch ein "sowohl Aserbaitschan als auch Polen" - mit Russland selbstverständlich als "Lachnummer-Partner", weil alle Entscheidungen + die Reketen von den USA kommen würden.
In Wahrheit geht es um eine Bedrohung Russlands mit Raketen der USA, um eine militärische Möglichkeit zur Druckausübung.
Parallele Kuba-Krise: Als in der Kuba-Krise der damalige US-Präsident wegen eines ähnlichen Vorfalls (vorgelagerte Raketen) fast einen Weltkrieg riskierte, da emfanden die US-Amerikaner den Bau eines derartig nahen Raketenstützpunktes absolut als Bedrohung. Jetzt kapieren sie nicht, dass die russische Regierung ganz ähnlich reagiert.
NATO considers missile defenses in tandem with U.S. shield
The Associated Press
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
BRUSSELS, Belgium: NATO ordered its military experts Thursday to draw up plans for a possible short-range missile defense system to protect nations on the alliance's southern flank that would be left exposed by proposed U.S. anti-missile units in central Europe.
At talks dominated by the missile defense issue,
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates stressed that Washington was pressing ahead with its plans to deploy anti-missile interceptors in Poland and high-tech sensors in the Czech Republic regardless of a Russian suggestion that the system be anchored around a Soviet-era radar installation in Azerbaijan.
"I was very explicit in the meeting
that we saw the Azeri radar as an additional capability, and that we intended to proceed with the radar, the X-Band radar in the Czech Republic ," Gates told a news conference.
However,
he and other NATO defense ministers welcomed Russia's offer of cooperation through the base in Azerbaijan, following Moscow's furious first reaction to the U.S. plan to extend its missile defenses to Europe.
A final agreement on whether to build a NATO anti-missile shield to work in tandem with the U.S. bases is expected at an April 2008 alliance summit in Romania , but Thursday's decision by defense ministers will factor the U.S. proposal for a Europe-based anti-missile system into NATO planning for the first time.
It reflects a growing acceptance of Washington's plans among the 26 allies, despite initial skepticism in some European nations and virulent opposition from Russia.
"The NATO road map on missile defense is now clear. It's practical and it's agreed by all," said Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, NATO's secretary general.
Gates said he had heard no criticism of the U.S. plans from the other NATO allies.
Washington says the addition of the European bases to anti-missile installations in North America would protect most of Europe from the threat of long-range attack from Iran or elsewhere in the Middle East. But it would leave Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria and parts of Romania exposed.
To fill that gap, de Hoop Scheffer said NATO experts would produce a report by February on a short-range anti-missile defenses "that can be bolted on to the overall missile defense system as it would be installed by the United States."
Russia has threatened to retaliate against the U.S. plans by pulling out of a key arms control treaty and pointing warheads at Europe for the first time since the Cold War. However, at last week's G-8 summit, President Vladimir Putin seemed to take a more open approach, suggesting Russia could cooperate with the West on an anti-missile radar base in Azerbaijan.
De Hoop Scheffer said talks with Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov had "not entirely" clarified how Russia envisages cooperation on the Azeri base or overcome Moscow's opposition to the missile defense plan.
"We have some hard nuts to crack," he told a news conference.
The Russians have rejected U.S. assertions that Iran poses a missile threat, saying it is decades away from producing missiles that could target Europe. They claim the U.S. plans pose a threat to Russia.
The NATO ministers also agreed to step up work to prevent attacks on alliance members' computer systems, following a sustained cyber-assault on Estonian Web sites at the height of a diplomatic dispute between the Baltic nation and Russia in May.
"Urgent work is needed to enhance the ability to protect information systems of critical importance to the alliance against cyber attacks," said NATO spokesman James Appathurai.
NATO ministers were due to meet their Afghan counterpart Friday. The defense ministers are seeking to increase training for the Afghan military and reduce the rising toll of civilian casualties in Afghanistan.
Gates urged European allies to stick to commitments to contribute troops to the 36,000-strong NATO force in Afghanistan. He also complained about the low level of military spending by some allies and the lack of progress in efforts to modernize the alliance's armed forces.
