US: Obama unveils new missile defense approach in Europe
Fri Sep 18 03:26:30 EST 2009
Thu Sep 17 17:26:30 UTC 2009
WASHINGTON, Sept 17 AP/AFP - US President Barack Obama on Thursday shelved a Bush-era plan for an Eastern European missile defence plan that has been a major irritant in US relations with Russia.
He said a redesigned defensive system would be cheaper, quicker and more effective against the threat from Iranian missiles.
"Our new missile defence architecture in Europe will provide stronger, smarter and swifter defences of American forces and America's allies," Obama said in an announcement from the White House.
"It is more comprehensive than the previous program; it deploys capabilities that are proven and cost effective, and it sustains and builds upon our commitment to protect the US homeland."
The missile defence system, planned under the Bush administration, was to have been built in the Czech Republic and Poland.
Obama phoned Czech Prime Minister Jan Fischer on Wednesday night and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Thursday to alert them of his decision.
Obama said the plan was scrapped in part because, after a review, the US has concluded that Iran is less focused on developing the kind of long-range missiles for which the system was originally developed, making the building of an expensive new shield unnecessary.
New technology also has arisen that military advisers decided could be deployed sooner and more effectively, he said.
Anticipating certain criticism from the right that he was weakening US security, Obama said repeatedly that this decision would provide more - not less - protection.
"I'm committed to deploying strong missile defence systems that are adaptable to the threats of the 21st century," the president said.
He said the US will continue to work cooperatively with what he called "our close friends and allies" - the Czech Republic and Poland, which had agreed to host the Bush-planned shield at considerable cost in public opinion and their relations with Russia.
He also made a pointed reference to Russia and its long and heated objections to the shield.
"Its concerns about our previous missile defence programs were entirely unfounded," Obama said.
Still, the decision could - and mostly likely will - be read as at least in part as an effort to placate Russia at a time when its support against Iran's suspected nuclear program has not been forthcoming and is sorely needed.
President Obama warned that Iran's ballistic missile program remained a threat.
"This new approach will provide capabilities sooner, build on proven systems and offer greater defences against the threat of missile attack than the 2007 European missile defence program," Obama said.
"Our clear and consistent focus has been the threat posed by Iran's ballistic missile program and that continues to be our focus and basis of the program that we're announcing today."
Highlighting advances in missile defence technology "particularly with regard to land and sea based interceptors and sensors that support them," the US president said the new approach would use proven and cost effective technologies.
