Ballistic missiles pose increasing threat worldwide. They are powerful means of warfare, but can also be used as an instrument of deterrence, political blackmail and coercion. The United States sustain strong commitment to the development of the missile defense to limit the effect of expanding, more and more sophisticated missile arsenals. This is considered very important if the United States are to maintain political and military freedom of action, especially in troubled regions. The European countries of NATO perceive the missile threat somewhat differently. Most of them agree that it exist but, as they do not conduct intensive policies in troubled regions, they do not believe the threat is imminent. That is why, on the one hand NATO has embraced missile defense as one of the most important goals, but on the other European members are not eager to pay huge cost of robust defensive effort. Thus, the US will bear lion’s share of European missile defense burden, making Europe’s security more and more tied to American strategic goals and depended on US military capabilities. This is surely augmenting factor, as far as transatlantic security ties are concerned.
The article aims to analyze some of the political problems associated with the location of elements of the US global missile defense system in Europe. It primarily discusses the place of missile defense in the US security strategy, as the United States perceives the military instrument as one of the most important elements of its national security strategy; hence the determination and consistency in its location, as well as all the consequences in the political dimensions being the subject of our interest. In the further part, it shows the current status and prospects of the missile defense program for Europe, including some necessary technical details and organizational issues, as this part of the issue constitutes the second fundamental determinant of the political role of the missile defense in Europe. Finally, it examines the political importance of the missile defense in Europe from the point of view of European security, devoting a special place to the presentation of the role played by it in relations between the West and Russia.
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