Vol. 73/No. 38      October 5, 2009

Instead, President Barack Obama ordered the development of a land- and sea-based system focused on stopping short-range missiles that could be fired by Iran toward Europe.

Moscow had described the plan to place missiles in Poland and a radar station in the Czech Republic, which was first announced during the administration of George W. Bush, as a “provocation.” Its suspension removes a bone of contention between Washington and Moscow. The White House hopes that Moscow will respond by backing new economic sanctions on Tehran if the Iranian government refuses to abandon its nuclear program.

In August 2008, the Bush administration signed the deal with the Polish government to place 10 interceptors at a base near the Baltic Sea.

According to the Wall Street Journal, U.S. officials said that more important than the missiles was “getting U.S. military personnel on Polish soil.”

The new system, White House officials said, could be implemented several years earlier than the original plan, and provides greater flexibility to upgrade and adjust further.

The system will be a more advanced version of the U.S. Navy’s Aegis system, expected to be available in 2015. It will operate from ships in the Black Sea, Baltic Sea, or both, and will be supplemented with as many as three land sites in Europe.

The U.S. rulers’ push to establish a missile “shield” in Europe is part of achieving nuclear first-strike capacity. In addition to 30 ground-based interceptors located on sites in Alaska and California, the U.S. military has 21 Aegis-type warships capable of long-range surveillance, tracking, and missile interception deployed in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

A large part of the U.S. fleet is deployed in the Pacific, demonstratively targeting North Korea.

Obama’s decision has been criticized by prominent Republicans in Congress, including Sen. John McCain, who said, “It could undermine U.S. standing in Eastern Europe amid worries there of a resurgent Russia.”

Gates responded, “Those who say we are scrapping missile defense in Europe are either misinformed or misrepresenting the reality of what we are doing,” he said, adding that placing land-based missiles in Poland and the Czech Republic is still in the cards. Russian president Dmitry Medvedev said the Obama administration’s decision was a “positive” one.

Talks for a nuclear arms control deal between Washington and Moscow are currently under way. Russian officials have called for discussing Washington’s development of its antimissile system as part of the negotiations, while Washington has insisted that this be excluded.
 
 
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