Back in the 80s, mass protests broke out in western Europe at Ronald Reagan's decision to deploy short-range nuclear missiles in western Europe to counter Soviet SS-20 missiles.
Eventually, Reagan and Gorbachev signed a deal - to the surprise of their own advisers - to remove all "intermediate and short-range" weapons, the first deal between the US and the then Soviet Union to cut rather than limit their nuclear weapons.
History may be about to repeat itself in some fashion. The New York Times reports that the US is looking to deploy anti-missile interceptors in eastern Europe as part of a missile shield to thwart any attacks from the Middle East.
The article mentions Poland and the Czech Republic as possible sites for these interceptors. Strongly pro-US, Poland seems quite open to the idea, even if - or perhaps because - it means antagonising its traditional enemy Russia.
According to press reports, the US and Poland started talking about the issue back in November. But there has been no public outcry, in sharp contrast to the row over short-range missiles in the Reagan-Gorbachev era. Instead, some positively welcome the idea.
The Poland Master Page website says: "The construction of the bases will have a significant positive impact on the Polish economy and on jobs in the region around each base."
Poland Master Page cites just one caveat: Poland should use the American desire to put a missile shield on its territory to bargain for easier visa entry conditions into the US for Polish citizens.
For the US, other considerations will weigh more heavily. A move to stationing interceptor missiles in Russia's so-called near abroad is hardly going to improve already tense relations with its former cold war rival. The Bush administration will have to decide whether to go ahead with the deployment of a dubious system is worth the price of further angering Moscow.
