The United States and Poland this week reached an outline of an agreement to have a U.S. ballistic missile defense system installed in Europe, and for Washington in return to provide the Poles with “concrete and tangible” military benefits, but no details of the plan have been set forth and no deal has been finalized.

U.S. plans call for installing a Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) missile shield to protect Europe from enemy missiles launched by Middle Eastern nations such as Iran, including a GMD radar in the Czech Republic and interceptors in silos in Poland.

Congress, however, said no construction work can begin until the Czechs and Poles agree to host the GMD facilities.

President Bush and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk met at the White House and emerged to announce that Poland wishes to cooperate with the United States on security matters including ballistic missile defense, and the United States wishes to cooperate by aiding Poland in bolstering its armed forces.

While no list was established as to just what sort of assistance or U.S. weaponry Poland might receive from the Americans, Bush pledged in a news conference with Tusk that Poland will receive the help before Bush leaves office on Jan. 20.

“The United States recognizes the need for Polish–the forces to be modernized,” Bush said, standing beside Tusk. “It’s important for our allies to–when they are worried about the modernization of their forces, that friends respond, and we’re responding. The first part of a response, of course, is to take inventory of needs. And Mr. Prime Minister, before my watch is over we will have assessed those needs and come up with a modernization plan that’s concrete and tangible.”

Bush outlined the talks he had in the Oval Office with Tusk.

“We talked about the need for mutual security, and that the significant threat to the 21st century, or perhaps the most significant is the launch of a missile with dangerous materials in its warhead,” Bush said.

And missile defense systems are the answer to that threat, he said.

“Technologies are developing that will enable the free world to be able to defend itself from blackmail and/or strife from these such types of launches,” Bush said.

And that is why, he said, the United States is “in discussions with Poland about how we can help the mutual security of the region. I’ve assured the prime minister that any decisions made will reflect the sovereignty of Poland.”

That was a reference to President Vladimir Putin and other Russian leaders’ sizzling condemnation of the U.S. GMD system, which Moscow says is aimed at Russian ICBMs. Bush and other U.S. leaders say that is ludicrous: 10 U.S. interceptors couldn’t counter hundreds of Russian ICBMs, and the interceptors aren’t fast enough to catch ICBMs anyway.

“I’ve assured [Tusk] that this system is not aimed at Russia, and I will continue to work with President Putin to give him those assurances, as well,” Bush said. “This system is designed for the threats of the 21st century.”

Tusk said the deal that he and Bush sketched out in their meeting will be a unified package, rather than separate agreements, so that the issue of Poland providing a site for the missile defense interceptors will be rolled together with the United States helping Poland to upgrade its armed forces.

At the same time, Tusk made clear that no final deal was reached, but rather that Poland and the United States had worked out a framework of an agreement that moved closer to a final detailed pact.

“This meeting can bring us definitely closer to the wealth of good solutions,” Tusk said, adding that there was progress in the meeting.

“What really is most important from this meeting, Mr. President, that in the spirit of those talks and also in the agreement, which we have made during this conversation, we can draw the conclusion from that [that] the United States can count on Poland whenever it needs, and Poland can count on the United States whenever Poland is in need. And this is our belief, the embodiment of the idea of solidarity, in the international dimension, and I want to thank you very much for this.”

Stressing that Polish forces modernization and European ballistic missile defense will be linked in the agreement, Tusk said through an interpreter:

“What is really important for both parties, we came to a conclusion, both during the talks and also the cooperation which we would like to develop together, is that the missile defense system and the modernization of the Polish forces, as well as the reinforcement of the global security system, which also influences the Polish security system, that all these issues come in one package, and that this is really something which gives us very much good hope for the future.”

Bush also praised Poland for contributing troops to aid U.S. forces in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Asked whether the agreement framework crafted between Poland and the United States represents a breakthrough, Bush said a deal was made, but much detail work remains ahead.

“I think there’s a commitment to a system that respects Polish sovereignty…that will ensure that the people of Poland will not be subjected to any undue security risks, that the [missile defense] system is necessary to deal with the realities of the threats,” Bush said.

At the same time, “Obviously there’s a lot of work to do, because many times a strategy on paper is a little different from the details. And so our experts are working through a system to make sure that the people of Poland are comfortable with the idea. This is the kind of issue that all kinds of rumors and worries can grow out of–and we just want to assure people that it’s necessary, and at the same time there will be this modernization effort.”

Tusk also said that installing the missile defense system clearly will be part of the agreement.

“What is really very important is what we stressed in the conclusion of this meeting today, that we wanted to stop the speculations on intentions expressed by the United States and expressed by Poland,” Tusk said, in translated remarks. “Our joint intention is to cooperate in all aspects of global security, American security, and Polish security. And an element of the security is the missile defense system.”

While Bush didn’t use the word “breakthrough,” Tusk did.

“What I would call a breakthrough is my conviction that…the President of the United States and the American party understand quite clearly our expectations,” Tusk said, referring to Polish demands for military assistance. “And if I may use this expression, I think that you [Bush] have set the perspective of Poland on the principle of the cooperation here. And, as you said, Mr. President, all the technicalities pertaining to the face of the negotiations and all those technical issues, they will be solved by experts.”