A new strategy

Poland's new government suspects that the US has not disclosed all of the details concerning the anti-missile shield which it hopes to install in Poland, Rzeczpospolita has reported.

According to the daily, research by two American scientists from Cornell University showed the interceptor missiles which would be stationed on Polish soil as part of the plan could potentially target Russian ballistic missiles, as well as the Iranian rockets which they are ostensibly designed to protect against. The government has voiced its desire to investigate these claims, but the issue is unlikely to move forward until talks resume when Prime Minister Donald Tusk visits Washington this spring.

The new government's cautious position on the plan runs in stark contrast to the enthusiastic stance of the previous government and of President Lech Kaczyński. In July President Kaczyński said that the decision to host the interceptor missiles could not be changed.

President Kaczyński announced last week that he would speak with the government about the issue. "This will be the topic of a very significant debate, because ... these are matters fundamental to our country," Kaczyński told the press.

US officials have met the government's doubts with offers of cooperation. "We are open to any questions," American negotiator John Rood told Rzeczpospolita.

On the domestic front, the Prime Minister wants to contrast himself with the President, who has always been very enthusiastic about the shield. Alternatively, from a foreign-policy standpoint, Tusk wants to appear as a more demanding partner to the US.