Support for missile defense conflicted

PRINCETON, N.J., Sept. 14 (UPI) -- A recent survey by New Jersey-based Opinion Research Corp. indicates a slight majority of people in Eastern Europe support a missile defense system.

The survey was sponsored by the Virginia-based Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance. Opinion Research used the regional Eastern European media firm IMAS to conduct the survey, polling 1,001 Polish adults and 1,009 Czech Republic adults with a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

In the survey, public opinion about the United States' proposed missile defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic show a slight edge of support with 58 percent and 9 percent undecided.

This while another recent poll from Opinion Research on public opinion from just the Czech Republic indicates that 51 percent of respondents do not support the proposed radar linked to the U.S. missile defense system; but 58 percent of Czechs believe their country should continue to negotiate with the United States on hosting a radar.

Despite the findings only one in four people were even familiar with the issue in both countries.

"These results show initial support for a global missile defense system to include Europe as missile defense systems deployed today in Japan, Russia, Israel and the United States enjoy popular public support," said Riki Ellison, president and founder of the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance, in a statement.

"As more and more countries move forward to deploy missile defenses from Australia to Spain to the Netherlands, popular support will follow. Our future as a Global community will depend on an integrated multinational missile defense system that can preserve peace and deter threats."