Paging Mr. Emanuel

So now it's the Democratic Party's position that Poland and the Czech Republic should be left vulnerable to enemy missile attacks? It's difficult to escape that conclusion following the report by Walter Pincus in yesterday's Washington Post that "Democrats in Congress are building a legislative roadblock to the Bush administration's plan to place elements of a missile defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic." The House cut $40 million for Polish missile defense from its version of the 2008 defense authorization bill, while the Senate is expected to do the same, the Post reported.

Rep. Rahm Emanuel, call your office. Mr. Emanuel is the former aide to President Clinton who helped win a Democratic majority in the House and who now represents a district in Chicago that includes many Americans of Polish descent. His Web site carries a press release in both English and Polish that was issued earlier this year in which Mr. Emanuel said, "Poland is a first-class friend and should not be treated as a second-class citizen."

The release notes, "Emanuel has been actively involved in recognizing and commemorating important historical moments of Poland, among them, the Warsaw Uprising, the Solidarity strikes in Poland, and the Independence and Constitution of Poland. He has honored the memory of important Poles such as Casimir Pulaski, Pope John Paul II, Ignacy Jan Paderewski, and Stanislaw Moniuszko."

The same defense authorization bill, approved by the House, requires, "The Secretary of Defense shall expand the ballistic missile defense system of the United States to better integrate with the defenses of Israel to provide robust, layered protection against ballistic missile attack." It goes on to authorize $45 million "to continue system development of the Missile Defense Agency and Israel Missile Defense Organization joint program to develop a short-range ballistic missile defense capability, David's Sling weapon system, and integrate the weapon system with the ballistic missile defense system and force protection efforts of the United States."

It also goes on to authorize $135 million "to begin acquisition of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) fire unit, which would provide Israel with a follow-on missile defense system of greater performance than the current Arrow system and provide a capability which is already fully integrated with the ballistic missile defense system of the United States."

We're all for cooperation between America and Israel on missile defense. But as Mr. Emanuel put it correctly in reference to a visa waiver issue, Poland "should not be treated as a second-class citizen." That means including it and the Czech Republic under the missile defense umbrella. Both Poland and the Czech Republic sent troops to help America fight the Battle of Iraq. Soldiers of both countries were killed in the war. The least that Congress can do by way of thanking these NATO allies is not to stint on protecting them from the missile threat.

America has endured years of Democratic caviling, groaning, and wailing about how the Bush administration supposedly alienated our allies in Europe. Here is the Bush administration trying to cement the alliance between America and our friends in new Europe, and what does the Democratic Congress do? It slashes funding and tells the Czechs and the Poles they are on their own. It's no way to treat allies. It'd be a fine opportunity for Congressman Emanuel to help turn things around. He could place a call to our own Senator Clinton, who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee that has jurisdiction over this bill.