Polish Residents Oppose U.S. Missile Defenses

A study has found that more than 60 percent of respondents in Poland oppose stationing components of a U.S. ballistic missile defense system on their territory, Agence France-Presse reported yesterday (see GSN, July 20).

A survey conducted from Aug. 4-6 by the GfK Polonia polling agency found 23 percent of 983 Poles polled favored hosting the weaponry and 63 percent were opposed, Rzeczpospolita daily reported. The remaining 14 percent expressed no opinion.

Some Polish officials have expressed doubts about participation in the program.

“We're not absolutely forced to accept this offer if we judge that it's not advantageous for us,” Polish Deputy Defense Minister Stanislaw Koziej told the Dziennik daily in June.

“We don’t have to have this installation on our territory if it doesn’t clearly serve to increase our security,” Koziej added (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, Aug. 10).

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