Voice of America reports that the United States and the Czech Republic have signed an agreement to implement a missile defense shield.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg signed a deal to build a radar station southwest of Prague, which will be part of a missile-defense system the United States says is aimed at shooting down missiles that may be fired from Iran or North Korea.
Besides the tracking radar system in the Czech Republic, the United States plans to deploy 10 interceptor missiles in Poland. Washington wants the sites to be in operation by 2012.
Talks are reportedly also under way to station up to 250 American troops in the Czech military base in Brdy, to service the radar station.
But the agreement faces major political hurdles. The accord has to be ratified by a divided Czech parliament where the government has just half the chamber's 200 seats.
