US Senate approves request for US radar in Czech Republic

A US Senate committee has agreed to a request from President George W. Bush to fund US missile defense installations in the Czech Republic and neighbouring Poland. The Armed Service Committee of the Senate unanimously agreed to “fully authorize” both a proposed tracking radar in the Czech Republic and an interceptor site in Poland as part of a 2009 fiscal bill. The proposal must still be approved by the full Senate and the House of Representatives. The US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice was scheduled to arrive in Prague on May 5 to sign an agreement paving the way for the US radar on Czech soil, but her visit was postponed until June.