PRAGUE, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- The Czech Republic and the United States have signed two treaties on stationing a U.S. radar base on Czech soil, but the planned project is still clouded with uncertainties amid continued domestic and outside objection.

Although the treaties have recently sailed through the Czech Senate, they need further clearance from the lower house of parliament, the Chamber of Deputies, which might not be an easy task.

The United States plans to build a radar base in the Brdy military district, some 90 km southwest of the Czech capital Prague, and station 10 missile interceptors in Poland, with which the Bush administration has also clinched a deal.

The move is part of the U.S. missile shield program the country says is aimed at protecting itself and a large part of Europe against missiles from "rogue states."

Under the two treaties signed this summer, the United States would be in command of the planned base and responsible for its management, and can deploy a maximum of 250 soldiers there on a regular basis.

The United States, however, cannot launch any attacks if there is no direct threat. If the Czech Republic faces a threat of terrorist attack, the United States will be responsible for cooperating with the country in eliminating that threat.


OPPOSITION FROM WITHIN

These treaties will take effect only after being approved by the Chamber of Deputies and signed by President Vaclav Klaus. However, it is unclear if the chamber, where the ruling coalition lacks an absolute majority, will approve it.

The radar base issue has also found the ruling coalition divided. Some lawmakers from two coalition parties, the Christian Democrats and the Green Party, have said they would oppose the treaties in a parliament vote.

The biggest opposition party, the Social Democrats, and the opposition Communists have sharply criticized the project. They support the holding of a referendum on the radar base and have called for the planned base to be connected to the NATO anti-missile system.

It would be difficult for the ruling coalition to push the treaties through the lower house without support from opposition parties, say analysts.

Further, a recent opinion poll showed that up to 66 percent of Czech citizens are against the planned U.S. project.

Anti-radar base activists have been campaigning against the plan since bilateral negotiations began over 18 months ago.

Protesters from the Non-Violence movement, along with those from the Mayors' League against the Radar, recently sent a letter to U.S. President-elect Barack Obama, asking him to reconsider the radar base scheme.

The Non-Violence movement even plans to launch a strong campaign on a pan-European level during the forthcoming Czech presidency of the European Union (EU), and ask the European Parliament to deal with the issue.

Jan Tamas, a spokesman for the movement, said security in Europe must be negotiated on an European level and the installation of a defense shield in the Czech Republic and Poland would worsen relations between the EU and Russia.


AN ANGRY RUSSIA

Russia has strongly opposed the setting up of the U.S. missile defense system in eastern Europe, saying it poses a threat to its national security and strategic interests.

In his first state of the nation address since taking office, President Dmitry Medvedev said Russia would deploy short-range Iskander missiles in Kaliningrad, a Baltic Sea enclave sandwiched between Poland and Lithuania, in response to the U.S. plans.

The Iskander is capable of targeting missile defense sites in the whole of Poland and most areas of the Czech Republic.

Russia will also deploy equipment in its western region to electronically jam the U.S. missile defense system and use the resources of its navy to counter the missile shield.


EU STANCE

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, whose country currently holds the rotating EU presidency, has said the planned U.S. radar base would do nothing to bolster Europe's security.

There is no imminent or urgent need to install such bases in Europe, Sarkozy said during the EU-Russia summit in Nice, France, last month.

Jan Hamacek, chairman of the foreign affairs committee of the Czech Chamber of Deputies, said: "It is turning out that the path of bilateral negotiations with the United States is a path into a blind alley and should be abandoned."

In addition, whether Obama will go ahead with the plan still remains uncertain.

Obama's advisors have said he backs in general the missile defense project, which is a flagship project of outgoing PresidentGeorge W. Bush, but believes it should be "pragmatic and cost-effective."

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