Source:
APMonday, June 4, 2007 - Updated: 04:45 AM EST
STITOV, Czech Republic - Big politics rarely play out in little places like Stitov. That is no solace to Vaclav Hudec, whose tiny village is caught in the middle of an international debate over U.S. plans to build a missile defense system here and in neighboring Poland.
Hudec, the mayor, and most of the residents of Stitov - population 58 - are bitterly opposed to the idea of hosting a U.S. radar base at the Brdy military zone next door.
So is Russia, and President Bush will wade into the fray when he visits Prague this week.
Recent polls suggest more than 60 percent of Czechs oppose the missile defense plan, which the United States says would help shield it and Europe if Iran unleashed a rocket attack. Opponents fear it could touch off a new arms race with Russia and make the Czech Republic a target for terrorists.
"I was never into politics, but into the environment and the forests," said Hudec, 47, pointing to the bucolic surroundings of Stitov, nestled in verdant hills southwest of the Czech capital.
But last month, he sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Appropriations Committee chairman Robert Byrd detailing why he and nearly two dozen other mayors do not want a U.S. radar installation on their doorsteps
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