Los Angeles Times- Europe skeptical on missile shield - by Peter Spiegel and Kim Murphy

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Europe skeptical on missile shield - by Peter Spiegel and Kim Murphy

For months, the Bush administration has courted Russian President Vladimir V. Putin to gain assent for its plans to build a long-range missile defense system in Eastern Europe. But the focus on Moscow may be misplaced. In the three capitals where legislatures must approve the system before ground is broken — Washington, Prague and Warsaw — support is thin and fading.

This growing opposition, detailed in interviews with current and former officials in the three countries, reflects what politicians and analysts view as the administration's mishandling of the issue and President Bush's rapidly declining influence both on Capitol Hill and among once-stalwart allies in what his administration has called "new Europe."