U.S. and Czechs to sign radar deal despite opposition

By Jan Lopatka

PRAGUE (Reuters) - The Czech Republic and the United States will sign a treaty on Tuesday to build a missile defense radar on Czech soil despite opposition at home and in Russia.

Washington wants to build the radar southwest of Prague and put 10 interceptor rockets in neighboring Poland as a part of a defense shield it says will protect the United States and European allies from threats from "rogue states" such as Iran.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will sign the deal in Prague, but the plan faces some hurdles.

Talks with Poland have so far failed over Warsaw's demands for U.S. finance to help modernize its army, and the Czech treaty will face opposition in parliament.

The Czech government said the shield would offer further protection on the top of the country's NATO and EU membership.

"Missile technology is spreading around the world," Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg told Reuters. "The threat is not totally acute, but one has to prepare in time."

Russia sees the shield as a threat, and has said it will aim its nuclear missiles at central Europe if the shield is deployed. The United States says the 10 rockets are no match for Russia's nuclear arsenal.

Analysts say that bases in the former Soviet bloc would raise U.S. security interest in the region at a time when Russia grows more assertive about its role on the global scene.

"While Washington's concerns about Iran are real, it's also true that in setting up these missile defense components, the United States will have a direct stake in the security of central and eastern Europe," said Alexander Kliment, an analyst at Eurasia Group, a U.S. political risk consultancy.

Disputes over the radar have alienated many Czechs, wary of any foreign military presence after the Soviet invasion in 1968 and the following two decades of occupation.

An opinion poll last month showed 68 percent of Czechs were against the shield, while 24 percent supported it.

Anti-radar activists say the radar will make the Czech Republic a target and undermine its security.

The leftist opposition in parliament has channeled the public discontent, and ratification is uncertain.

The three-party cabinet has just 100 seats in the 200-seat lower house and several backbenchers have said they would vote against. The government must win over several independents.

"I am convinced that responsibility will prevail and a majority will stand behind (the radar)," Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Vondra told Czech Television.