ambassador speeches

The Decision on Missile Defense Will Be Yours

Právo, August 19, 2006

The ongoing public discussion about a possible missile defense installation in the Czech Republic has featured a diversity of opinion, reflecting the Czech Republic’s rich democratic system.  And I would like to take this opportunity to contribute information that will aid that discussion. 

The United States and the Czech Republic continue to exchange information about the facts of the system and the physical characteristics of a possible Czech site. As was widely reported in the press, a team of engineers, specialists and environmental experts visited the Czech Republic in July.  Escorted by Czech counterparts, the team visited three candidate sites at Libava, Boletice, and Brdy.  The U.S. team worked hand in hand with Czech experts to learn whether the sites would be technically able to host a missile defense facility.  The surveys were used to collect data on soil, groundwater, infrastructure and other factors, and also assessed potential environmental impacts. 

Conducting a site survey does not indicate selection of an area as a missile defense site; numerous surveys have taken place in both the Czech Republic and Poland.  A technical assessment report of all prospective sites in Europe should be ready by the end of August, but there is no timeline on a final decision by the U.S. Secretary of Defense.  If an offer of a facility is made by the United States, the decision on whether or not to host a facility will be up to the Czech Republic.  We believe it is up to the Government of the Czech Republic to decide whether and what kind of a role it wants to play in European defense.

We are allies, and we believe in working together. I know that this is very different from the past Czech experience of involuntarily hosting foreign bases. The uninvited visitors in your country’s past did not ask permission, did not believe in cooperative ventures, and they certainly did not share information so that Czechs could make the best decision possible about their strategic future.

This week a team from the Ministries of Defense and Foregin Affairs visited Washington. This was an opportunity for experts and policy makers on both sides to raise questions and further discuss the possibiliy of Czech participation in the program.

The proposed facility under consideration in Central Europe could house up to ten defensive missiles and a radar.  These rockets do not have warheads.  They are designed to intercept and destroy ballistic missiles inbound for Europe or North America through direct impact at high speeds.   The radar would not necessarily need to be co-located with the missiles.  The facility would have a relatively small physical area, perhaps 350 hectares, and require only a few hundred U.S. personnel.   Conditions for placing U.S. personnel in the host country would of course be negotiated in advance.

We do not yet have a plan for a particular facility, so we do not yet know how many local employees would be involved or how much money would be spent in the local community. Our experience with missile defense facilities in the United States indicates that there is a positive economic benefit to the local economy, but it is too early to know specific figures for a European site.  These are the sort of details that will become part of the public debate only after a decision is made on the preferred site, or sites, and a concrete proposal is made to the host country.

Missile Defense is a key concern of the United States and its NATO allies.  In Brussels, the Alliance has discussed the issue at length.  NATO supports Missile Defense.  The system we are discussing with the Czech government  is intended to protect both European Allies and the United States, not just America as some Czech commentators have erroneously written.  We are pleased that our allies the Czech Republic and Poland have expressed interest in hosting a Missile Defense site, which is fully in keeping with their NATO obligations to collective defense.  From my many talks with Czech friends, I’ve heard how the people in this country feel when others have not come to their defense in times of peril.  Thus I’m not surprised that Czechs are willing to do their part to come to the defense of their Allies in these difficult days.  I deeply appreciate Czech leadership on this critical issue and look forward to continued negotiations and public discussion as the evaluation process continues.