Conference on missile defense in Prague

A one-day international conference on missile was held in Prague on Monday, attended by Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek, NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Rood, among others. The conference focused on American and European perspectives on missile defense and explores the possibility of incorporating a planned US radar base in the Czech Republic and an interceptor missile base in Poland into a future NATO defense system. Prime Minister Topolánek said in an opening address that he was glad to see NATO had acknowledged the fact that a missile attack by what Washington calls “rogue states” was a real threat and was ready to cooperate on defense matters with Washington.