Obama lays out steps for a nuclear free world

"The missile shield is a further guarantee of our belonging to the transatlantic security system," explains Pavel Prikryl, an analyst at the Association for International Affairs in Prague.

"A Russian general said Moscow didn't care if the system was located in Germany or France, but they object to it being put here because they still view the region as their sphere of influence," Prikryl added.

But Jiri Dienstbier, a Czech senator and former foreign minister, told the Monitor the Czech Republic is already firmly entrenched with the West through membership in NATO and the EU.

"That we need a special relationship with the United States to further ensure our security is nonsense," he said.

Opinion polls show most Czechs oppose the plan, fearing it could make them the target of a terrorist attack.

Speaking to Czech TV, Jan Zahradil, a member of the European Parliament from the Czech right-wing ODS party, said the radar transforms the country into an "important player" and a "strategic partner" with Washington.

In his speech, Obama credited Czechoslovakia's Velvet Revolution with helping to bring down a "nuclear power without a shot being fired," and proving "that small nations can play a big role in history."

Obama's visit comes as Eastern Europe marks the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall and the 10th anniversary of the admittance of the first former Warsaw Pact nations – Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary – into NATO.

Czechs flock to see Obama

In a sign of the times, security was tight. Sharpshooters were situated on nearby rooftops within gaze of the podium from where Obama spoke. Traffic came to a standstill as Obama's motorcade made its way to Prague Castle. Most of the cobbled streets snaking toward the square were blocked off. Those hoping to get a peek of the US leader had to pass through metal detectors.

For many, the wait was worth it.

"I won't be traveling to the US, so it's a great opportunity to hear him," explains a man who identified himself as Jaroslav, who along with his wife, Petra, and two small children, woke up early to travel about 50 miles from Litomerice to hear Obama, whom he called a "breath of fresh air."

Petr Bauer – who emigrated with his wife, Stanislava, from Czechoslovakia to Germany in 1968 the year Soviet tanks rolled in to crush the Prague Spring uprising against hard-line Communist rule – likened Obama to John F. Kennedy.

We have a lot of hope with Obama," says Mrs. Bauer, who was not a big fan of George Bush or his "aggressive" policies. [Editor's note: The original version duplicated a sentence.]

In Prague, Obama also attended an EU-US summit that focused on cutting greenhouse gases and energy security.

The "No Bases" movement, which opposes the US radar on Czech soil, had planned to march on the venue hosting the summit, but was denied a permit by city authorities. Greenpeace activists, however, managed to hang a huge banner across a bridge near the conference center. It read: "Bail out the environment."

The EU-US summit wraps up a whirlwind of high-level diplomatic meetingsfor Obama that started at the G-20 in London and continued with a NATO 60th anniversary celebration in France and Germany.

After an informal meeting with former Czech president Vaclav Havel, Obama heads on to Turkey, his final destination on his maiden tour of Europe.

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