Go to Original
US Pushes Missile Defense Plan
The Associated Press
Thursday 19 April 2007
Brussels, Belgium - The United States was intensifying efforts Thursday to
defuse Russian anger and allay European concerns over plans to extend American
anti-missile defenses to Europe.
Speaking ahead of talks with Russia and NATO allies, the director of the U.S.
Missile Defense Agency said the strategic defense shield was needed to deter
Iran and others in the Middle East from developing long range rockets that could
threaten Europe or North America.
"Nations like Iran, Syria and others see these weapons as very valuable weapons
because historically there has no been defense against those," Lt. Gen. Henry
A. Obering told a conference on Wednesday in Poland. "But we are at a point
now that we have a defense against these weapons."
Obering and Eric Edelman, the U.S. undersecretary of defense for policy, were
to brief allies and Russian officials at NATO headquarters.
Moscow has denounced the plan to install ten interceptor missiles in Poland
and radar scanners in the Czech Republic as a potential threat to its military
deterrent.
Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov insisted in an interview with
London's Financial Times that Iran would not have the capability to produce
intercontinental ballistic missiles in the "foreseeable future."
"Since there aren't and won't be (Iranian) ICBMs, then against whom, against
whom, is this system directed? Only against us," the paper quoted him as saying.
He warned that the U.S. plans risked provoking a new arms race.
"Whenever the shield is strengthened, the sword is strengthened afterward,"
he told the FT. "This is the eternal competition and here there is never going
to be a winner."
Many NATO allies have also expressed concern that the U.S. plan risks creating
new tensions in Europe by alienating Russia, without necessarily adding to security
because many share doubts about Iran's ability to develop long-range missiles,
or about the effectiveness of the missile defenses.
Germany's government appears divided on the issue with Chancellor Angela Merkel
urging NATO to take up the discussions for a missile defense shield while her
Social Democrats coalition partners have voiced strong criticism of the U.S.
plans. French officials have also cast doubt on the US plan, saying NATO allies
nuclear strike force would be enough to deter any missile attack.
Such divisions have prevented the 26-nation NATO alliance from developing its
own plans for strategic missile defense, although its leaders last year ordered
further study into the possibility of developing an alliance shield.
At Thursday's talks, U.S. officials are expected to offer cooperation with
Russia and NATO allies in building up strategic defenses, stressing that all
could face the danger of a rogue missile attack on their territory.
"We want to cooperate with Russia," Edelman, said recently in Washington.
"The threat is one that they face as well as one that we face. In fact, they
come within range of these missiles before we do."
NATO is already working with Russia on plans to develop battlefield protection
against short-range missiles. That NATO system, due to be ready by 2016, could
be combined with the U.S. long-range missile defenses to provide territorial
cover for European nations, alliance officials have suggested.
That could allay concerns that the U.S. installations would create a two-tier
defense system within NATO by offering a protective umbrella to much of northern
Europe while leaving southern allies such as Turkey, Greece and Bulgaria exposed.
-------
Jump to today's Truthout Features:
(In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. t r u t h o u t has no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of this article nor is t r u t h o u t endorsed or sponsored by the originator.)
"Go to Original" links are provided as a convenience to our readers and allow for verification of authenticity. However, as originating pages are often updated by their originating host sites, the versions posted on TO may not match the versions our readers view when clicking the "Go to Original" links.
Print This Story
E-mail This Story