US: US to scrap plans for missile shield in Europe: WSJ
Thu Sep 17 22:26:07 EST 2009
Thu Sep 17 12:26:07 UTC 2009
WASHINGTON, Sept 17 AFP - The United States plans to shelve plans for a missile-defence system based in Poland and the Czech Republic, The Wall Street Journal reports.
It is a move "likely to cheer Moscow and roil the security debate in Europe," the report said on Thursday.
"The US will base its decision on a determination that Iran's long-range missile program has not progressed as rapidly as previously estimated, reducing the threat to the continental US and major European capitals," the report said, citing unnamed current and former US officials.
"The findings, expected to be completed as early as next week following a 60-day review ordered by President Barack Obama, would be a major reversal from the Bush administration, which pushed aggressively to begin construction of the Eastern European system before leaving office in January," the report added.
Former president George W Bush's administration proposed the system to counter its perceived threat of Iran developing a nuclear weapon that could be carried by its increasingly sophisticated missiles.
Russia was a staunch opponent of the system which it has seen as a threat to its own security.
