By IRNA,
Tehran : Escalation between Washington and Moscow reached its heights when the United States signed a deal with Poland to house the 10 interceptor missiles as part of the defense shield whose directional radar is to be sited in the Czech Republic.
The US and Polish officials say the timing of the deal had nothing to do with events in Georgia, but no one is going to believe this, least of all the Russians who will inevitably see it as a further gauntlet thrown down by the Bush administration.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk denied the timing of the deal has anything to do with the Russian actions in Georgia. He asserted the negotiations with the Americans had been delayed because Poland wanted the right deal.
If this is true, then Warsaw has done well. Not only will it receive the Patriot short-range anti-missile missiles but its armed forces will be given considerable assistance upgrading equipment and training and US units will for the first time be stationed on its territory.
There is a point at which the extent of “defensive” measures actually becomes offensive because if it is possible to interdict an attack, it is equally possible to combat a counterattack mounted in response to an attack from the West.
However absurd this may seem to Western Europeans, it in no way appears exaggerated to the Russians, whose territory was last invaded from Europe just 67 years ago.
It is clear, therefore, that in its final months, the Bush White House is in no way abandoning the inept belligerence that has brought so much bloodshed and misery in its disastrous wake.
More to the point, Washington is now directly involving Europeans in its confrontation with a resurgent Russia. Over and above the military might it is busy restoring, Moscow’s other weapons are the safety of billions of dollars of European investments in its companies and the reliability of energy flows, particularly gas supplies.
Already grappling with rising recession, Europe could find itself paying a high price for the challenge to Russians inherent in the Polish missile deal.
Not only are Poland and the Czech Republic now members of the European Union but they have also joined NATO. Thus both politically and militarily most of Western Europe is being drawn into a US face-off with Moscow.