Finally we have a President who understands that the missile shield was a stupid idea that undermined our relations with Russia. Not only that, it helped push the Soviet Union into a dictatorship again by creating the excuse of an external threat. Dictators use the specter of real, or imagined, threat from the U.S. to increase their power (i.e., Cuba, North Korea, Iran, etc.).
President Barack Obama has told east European states he is backing away from plans for an anti-missile shield there, in a move that may ease Russian-U.S. ties but fuel fears of resurgent Kremlin influence.
Russia said it would welcome abandonment of the plans, which have been a major source of Russian-U.S. tensions.
Poland said Obama would announce a final decision later on Thursday (1400 GMT) on a project that has raised the prospect of multi-billion dollar contracts for U.S. defense giants.
The shield, involving interceptor missiles in Poland and a radar complex in the Czech republic, was promoted by Obama's predecessor George W. Bush to defend against any missile launches from "rogue" states such as Iran and North Korea.
"Today, shortly after midnight, Barack Obama telephoned me to announce that his government is backing away from the intention of building a missile defense radar on Czech territory," Czech Prime Minister Jan Fischer told reporters.
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