Czech prime minister calls for referendum over possible U.S. military base

Czech prime minister calls for referendum over possible U.S. military base

Foreign Minister Cyril Svoboda said earlier this week that the Czech Republic was in talks with the United States over whether to host a base from which U.S. interceptors could shoot down long-range missiles as part of a global defense network.

The base would be the first American strategic missile defense site outside U.S. territory, designed to defend Europe against intercontinental-range missiles - primarily from launch points in the Middle East, the AP reports.

No decision has been made in the Czech Republic and alternative sites in other NATO countries, such as Poland, are a possibility.