Poland, Israel sign missile deal

The anti-tank " Spike LR" missiles, which can be shoulder-fired, will be produced in Poland under license from the state-owned Israeli Rafael arms corporation by the Polish firm Mesko, reports the Associated Press. This deal, which will help bring Poland's Soviet-era missile program up to NATO standards, will also "give Mesko financial breathing room after a decade of losses," reports AP.

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As The Jerusalem Post reports, "the deal was so important for Poland that [its] Minister of National Defense Jerzy Szmajdzinski was on hand to sign it" in Skarzysko Kamienna, 90 miles south of Warsaw.

According to the Post, the Israeli Defense Force "has used the Spike and various derivatives for a number of years," including in Lebanon, the West Bank, and Gaza Strip. Director general of Israel's Defense Ministry Amos Yaron pointed out that "this decision is not confined solely to the industrial sphere but rather reflects a strategic choice that will hopefully pave the way for a further enhancement of Polish-Israeli defense relations."

Last April marked a politically significant reward for Poland's support of the coalition when the country signed a $3.5 billion deal to buy 48 US-made F-16 jet fighters. This was the biggest defense contract by a former Soviet bloc country since the end of Cold War. However, The New York Times reports that the "contract is starting to stir frustration [in Poland] because of the time it is taking Lockheed to fulfill its promise to steer American investments to Poland to offset the purchase."

When it comes to economic payback for its support of the Iraq war, at least in the form of rebuilding contracts in Iraq, " few people are waiting with more impatience than the Poles," reports the Times.

While the Polish government cited moral and political reasons for its support of the United States, economic motives were never far from the surface. Polish officials freely acknowledged that they hoped that backing a friend in a time of need would translate into more profitable economic ties.

To many here, winning contracts in Iraq is one way to judge whether that bet paid off. Some see it as an ominous sign that Poland has so far netted just one project, a $7 million telecommunications contract.

Times columnist Thomas Friedman writes of Poland as a "geopolitical spa" for America and the " antidote to European anti-Americanism." But he points out that this goodwill is tenuous.

Poland's becoming a member of the EU will give the US an important friend within that body — a counterweight to those EU forces that would like to use anti-Americanism as the glue to bind the expanding alliance and that would like to see the EU forge its identity as the great Uncola to America's Coca-Cola.

But as powerful as Poland's bond to America is these days, we dare not take it for granted. Poland has some 2,400 troops in Iraq. That's the good news. The bad news is that roughly 75 percent of Poles oppose their deployment. Polish officials will tell you Poland sent troops to Iraq to help keep the Americans in Europe. But the public doesn't make such connections, and most people don't understand what their boys are doing there or what Poland is getting out of it.

Also...
• The terror threat at home, often overlooked ( The Christian Science Monitor)
• Weapons inspectors visit Libyan sites( The Washington Post)
• 'Don't call me Osama,' Iraqi imams tell US troops ( Reuters)
• Three FBI agents on trying to prevent another 9/11 ( The Christian Science Monitor)
• Deal over Pakistan power struggle ( BBC)
• Report: Saddam says he siphoned billions ( The Associated Press)

• Feedback appreciated. E-mail Matthew Clark.