US Scraps Missile Defense Shield Plans

[BuddyLee]

US Scraps Missile Defense Shield Plans

Originally Posted by CNN

The United States has suspended Bush-administration plans for a missile defense shield in Poland and the Czech Republic, officials from both countries said Thursday -- a move likely to please Russia, which had fiercely opposed the plans.

A U.S. delegation held high-level meetings Thursday in both Poland and the Czech Republic to discuss the missile defense system. While the outcome of the meetings wasn't clear, officials in both countries confirmed the system would be scrapped.

Czech Prime minister Jan Fischer said in a statement that U.S. President Barack Obama told him in a Wednesday phone call that the United States was shelving its plans. Fischer did not say what reason Obama gave him for reconsidering.

A spokeswoman at the Polish Ministry of Defense also said the program had been suspended.

"This is catastrophic for Poland," said the spokeswoman, who declined to be named in line with ministry policy.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Gen. James E. Cartwright, who is vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, are scheduled to hold a news conference Thursday morning. The Defense Department has not announced what will be discussed, but Cartwright is the point man for the missile defense shield program.

Poland and the Czech Republic had based much of their future security policy on getting the missile defenses from the United States. The countries share deep concerns of a future military threat from the east -- namely, Russia -- and may now look for other defense assurances from their NATO allies.

"At the NATO summit in April, we adopted a resolution focusing on building a defense system against real, existing threats, i.e. short-range and medium-range missiles," Fischer said. "We expect that the United States will continue cooperating with the Czech Republic on concluding the relevant agreements on our mutual (research and development) and military collaboration, including the financing of specific projects."

By contrast, Russia may view the move as a diplomatic victory after complaining about the program consistently for years.

There was no comment Thursday morning from Russian officials. But the issue has been a sore point in relations between Washington and Moscow, with Russia believing the shield would ultimately erode its own strategic nuclear deterrent.

With the program scrapped, it opens the way for Russia to join with the United States in taking a harder line on Iran, CNN Correspondent Matthew Chance reported from Moscow. The United States cited the perceived nuclear threat from Iran as one of the key reasons it wanted to install the missile shield in eastern Europe.

The United States proposed the plans under then-President George W. Bush, but since taking over this year, the Obama administration has been reviewing whether to move ahead with them.

"There's been no public announcement on our review of what will best secure our European allies, and ultimately as well as the U.S., from potential capability Iran may possess in the future," U.S. Vice President Joe Biden told CNN's Chris Lawrence in Baghdad, Iraq, where he is on a brief trip.

Biden, who said he is "deeply" involved in the review, added that the United States is now "fully capable and secure" in dealing with any potential Iranian threat.

"The whole purpose of this exercise we are undertaking is to diminish the prospect of Iran destabilizing that region of the world," Biden said. "I am much less concerned about Iranian potential -- they have no potential at this point -- to launch a missile that can strike the United States of America."

The United States proposed the plan under then-President W. George Bush; the Obama administration has since been reviewing the plan. The missile shield issue came up in July during a meeting between Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in Moscow. Obama maintained that Russia had nothing to fear from such a system, which would be designed to intercept a solitary missile from Iran or North Korea, as opposed to "a mighty Russian arsenal."

Poland, Czech and I feel much safer now.

 

[Pushrod]

Nothing like going reneging on your word to another country. What government is going to trust what the U.S. says now?

 

[ImnoMensa]

Obama needs a bigger bus.

It's one thing throwing aperson or two under that bus, but now he throws a nation under. Not only that he is throwing ACORN under it. It's getting crowded under that bus.

 

[EmptyTimCup]

Nothing like going reneging on your word to another country. What government is going to trust what the U.S. says now?

Come on PR -

Everyone knows Dems are all about Domestic Policy .....


who cares about Poland and Czec. that was Boosh thing ......

 

[Pushrod]

Come on PR -

Everyone knows Dems are all about Domestic Policy .....


who cares about Poland and Czec. that was Boosh thing ......

Remember all the terrorist attacks and kidnappings while we had Dem presidents, we are about to see it start all over again.

 

[wm1953]

Iran has been going full force on their short range and medium range
missiles. The system for long range missiles would not have been ready
at the earliest 2018. The system is still being developed but not
implemented until it is fuctional.
The new system will use patriot, aeigis(?) and other missiles. They
will use land base and ship base deployment. Under last years
budget 6 ships are being fitted to carry and deploy the aeigis missile.
This change was brought forward by the pentagon and Gates.
Gates said he had recommended 3 years ago the long range system
but had found out that Iran was going full bore on the short and long
range missile development recently.
The Commander and Chief is developing policy on recommedations
from the Generals and Defense department leaders, as he should.

 

[kom526]

The land based missile shield was a bad idea in the first place.

 

[Sonsie]

Well Poland won't even accept calls from us now and don't forget Iran is claiming to be a nuclear power now. Gotta love dems on national security.

It's often forgotten that the now-dead system, which would have placed interceptor missiles in Poland and a powerful X-band radar in the Czech Republic, was also intended to provide an additional layer of defense for the Eastern seaboard of the U.S. from long-range Iranian missiles. Iran already has numerous short- and medium-range missiles, courtesy of its close collaboration with its North Korean ally. It is working on developing a long-range capability, which Pyongyang already has.

The U.S. is protected from the North Korean threat by a series of ground-based interceptors based in Alaska and California. But New York and Washington are a long way from Alaska and California, and the "third site," as the European system was known, was designed in part to provide an additional layer of defense for the American East Coast.

The "smarter" missile-defense system that President Obama announced yesterday won't replace that capability. The mobile and sea-based system could help protect Berlin and Paris from short-range or medium-range missiles, but it won't protect New York from an ICBM. The administration's plan is a blow to the security architecture that protects the American homeland. Link

 

[aps45819]

Obama stood up, wiped off his chin, then he and Putin announced the the scraping of the missile defense system.




....on the 70th anniversary of the Soviet Union's invasion of Poland

 

[itsbob]

Nothing like going reneging on your word to another country. What government is going to trust what the U.S. says now?

Palestine, Hezbollah and Al Queada, to name just a few

 

[itsbob]

The land based missile shield was a bad idea in the first place.

The radar sounds like a damn good idea.

The closer you can get a radar to the suspected source, the earlier in flight you know it's coming.

A radar in upper NY State for example, won't pick up a missile from Iran until it clears the horizon (line of Sight).. that could be several minutes into the missiles flight time, whereas a radar set up in Czech or Poland maybe able to detect the missile just seconds after leaving the launch pad.

 

[wm1953]

The long range land based system would not have been functional
until after 2018 if at all. Gates also said it was unlikey that the legislature
of the Chec Republic and Poland would have approved it because
both countries' citizens' have rallied against the systems.

 

[MMDad]

Wirelessly posted (Change we can believe in!: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows CE; IEMobile 7.7) 320x240; VZW; Motorola-Q9c; Windows Mobile 6.0 Standard)

And in other news, GE got a very lucrative deal with the Russians yesterday.

It would be fishy if that GE subsidiary MSNBC had helped Obama get elected. Good thing Obama isn't a cheap whore.

 

[Pushrod]

this is another issue that 0bama lied to us and others about. It was just over five months ago (April 5, 2009) that Barack Obama, in a speech he gave in Prague, said the following words:

So let me be clear: Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile activity poses a real threat, not just to the United States, but to Iran’s neighbors and our allies. The Czech Republic and Poland have been courageous in agreeing to host a defense against these missiles. As long as the threat from Iran persists, we will go forward with a missile defense system that is cost-effective and proven. [Applause.]

We have such short memories.

 

[huntr1]

this is another issue that 0bama lied to us and others about. It was just over five months ago (April 5, 2009) that Barack Obama, in a speech he gave in Prague, said the following words:


We have such short memories.

What's this you say? He lied? YOU RACIST BASTARD!!!!!!!!!!!!