BERLIN, March 12 (UPI) -- A U.S. military official will arrive in Berlin this week to lobby for a controversial U.S. anti-missile system in Eastern Europe.
U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Henry Obering, who oversees the American rocket defense system, will hold talks in Berlin with German Defense Ministry officials and in the German Parliament to alleviate fears that the system could strain Russia's relations with the West, German news magazine Der Spiegel reported Monday.
"With a mixture of indignation and horror, the Bush administration is observing the growing adversity against the controversial military project," the news magazine wrote. It added that Washington had realized it hadn't sufficiently consulted with its allies in Europe.
Washington claims the system, which foresees ten bunker-protected rockets to be stationed in Poland and a radar unit in the Czech Republic, is to protect the United States and its allies against long-range rockets armed with nuclear warheads fired by the likes of North Korea and Iran.
But Moscow sees the missiles as threats against its territory. Russian President Vladimir Putin said last month at a security conference the U.S. plans would provoke a new arms race.
