US lawmakers eliminate funding for missile defense in Poland

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
US lawmakers eliminated on Tuesday money requested by President George W. Bush to build interceptors in Poland as part of a European missile defense system. Negotiators from the House of Representatives and the Senate left the funding out of a $460 billion bill to finance Pentagon operations covering the budget year that began October 1, according to Democratic Rep. John Murtha, a senior lawmaker involved in the negotiations. It is unclear how the move would affect the building of a project that would include silos for 10 interceptors in Poland and a radar system in the Czech Republic. The plan has roiled relations with Russia, which has suggested that the system could undermine the Russian nuclear deterrent. The United States insists the system is designed to counter any threat from Iran.