A newly-installed Polish defense minister has voiced uncertainty as to whether Poland should host a proposed segment of the Ground-base Midcourse missile Defense (GMD) system in Europe, The Washington Post reported, quoting a Polish newspaper.

The European BMD system, with an advanced radar in the Czech Republic and 10 interceptors in silos in Poland, would be an addition to the two existing GMD centers in Alaska and California that form part of the U.S. ballistic missile shield.

President Bush has said the GMD third site in Europe is needed, urgently, to counter the threat of enemy missiles from Middle Eastern nations, such as Iran, striking Europe.

Iran has launched multiple missiles in a single test; launched a missile from a submerged submarine, and obstinately refused to halt a nuclear materials production program that it claims is for electrical generation uses but which Western nations fear may be used to build nuclear weapons. As well, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that Israel should be wiped from the map.

The Polish defense minister, Bogdan Klich, said Poland should step back and examine whether permitting the United States to install the GMD silos and interceptors would serve the interests of Poland.

Klich is part of a new Polish government that just took office.

Donald Tusk, the prime minister, has favored a more independent stance from the United States.