U.S., Poland sign defense missile pact

WARSAW, Poland, Aug. 20 (UPI) -- The United States and Poland signed an agreement Wednesday in Poland to locate part of a controversial U.S. missile defense system in that country.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice traveled to Warsaw for the signing ceremony with Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski, the BBC reported.

The agreement calls for 10 interceptor missiles to be located in an unused military base near Poland's Baltic Coast to protest Europe against possible long-range attacks. The United States signed an agreement to place a radar tracking system on Czech Republic soil last month.

The deals with the two former Soviet satellites angered Russia, which says its national security is threatened by the missile defense system.

Poland will receive short-range Patriot missiles and a guarantee of U.S. assistance if Poland is attacked, the British broadcaster reported.

Polish President Lech Kaczynski said Wednesday the missile shield was a defense system, not a threat, so "no one who has good intentions toward us and toward the Western world should be afraid of it."

Meanwhile, Democrats in the U.S. Congress want to slow things down, saying the missile system's design -- the latest version of one partially installed in Alaska and California -- hasn't been tested adequately, The New York Times reported.