Kamil Tchorek: Georgia has reawakened Poles' fear of Russian aggression | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk:
"Until the Georgia crisis, Poles didn't want the US missile shield. It was seen as another demonstration of Bush lunacy: a piece of kit that didn't work; a $100bn subsidy of American aerospace; a defence against an Iran that would use a terror cell with a dirty bomb before an ICBM; and a middle finger to a Kremlin that will take any pretext to whip up Russian nationalism to distract from its own failings.
But now, the 10 interceptor missiles headed for Poland have real power – and that power is symbolic rather than tactical. With American boots and hardware on the ground in their country, Poles feel that they cannot be let down in the way they have been so many times before. The Kremlin's recent behavior, and long memories in this part of the world, makes Poles want that certainty."
