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US replaces Bush plan for Europe missile shield

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-09-18 16:38

Marine Corps General James Cartwright, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, gestures during a joint news briefing with US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates (L) at the Pentagon in Washington September 17, 2009. Gates said on Thursday the United States would initially deploy Aegis ships equipped with missile interceptors to help defend European allies and US forces against threats from Iran and others under a revamped missile shield program. [Agencies]

Gates said land-based defense systems would be fielded in a second phase starting in about 2015.

"Those who say we are scrapping missile defense in Europe are either misinformed or misrepresenting the reality of what we are doing," Gates said.

Marine Corps General James Cartwright, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the Pentagon also envisioned eventually deploying a land-based radar as part of the system which would ideally be based in the Caucasus.

Related readings:  Germany backs US' scrap of missile shield  US backs away from missile shield plan  US eyes risk of Mediterranean missile war  Obama may drop missile sites in East Europe  US reassures Poland on missile defense

Obama's plan contains elements that may still upset Moscow -- interceptor missiles could still be stationed in Poland, and also in the Czech Republic, and a radar in the Caucasus is in an area Russia sees as its sphere of influence.

But the Pentagon played down those potential concerns, saying the SM-3 missile interceptors in the new system could not be tipped with nuclear warheads and the radar would be configured only to look south towards Iran, not deep into Russia as in the Bush plan.

Analysts said investors could see some long-term trade and other benefits if the US missile decision improves relations with Russia, but noted that there were also risks if Moscow ended up in taking a more assertive posture.

Lockheed Martin shares were up 4.46 percent at $79.56 on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday. Raytheon was up 3.36 percent at $47.72 and Boeing Co was up 1 percent at $52.88.

NO QUID PRO QUO

The White House rejected Republican charges it had made a major concession to Moscow without winning anything in return. "This is not about Russia," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said, adding there was no quid pro quo expected.

But other Democrats said they hoped for a pay-off on Iran policy where Russia is seen as a reluctant partner in efforts to end Tehran's nuclear program.

"It is time for Russia to join our push to impose stricter sanctions on Iran," Democratic Senator Charles Schumer said.

Discarding Bush's missile shield plan could also remove an obstacle to winning a deal with Russia on a replacement for a major nuclear arms reduction treaty that expires in December.

Republicans -- who hope to build momentum against Obama after a summer dominated by angry debate over his healthcare reform plan -- wasted no time assigning blame.

"The reported decision to scrap missile defense for Europe sounds dangerously like a policy of appeasement," Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a statement.

Such fears were likely to grow in eastern European states, many of which had seen the large missile plan as a symbol of US commitment to the defense against any encroachment by its former Soviet rulers.

Obama informed the Czech and Polish governments of his decision just hours before the announcement, officials said. In Poland, Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said the United States would still go ahead with plans to station a battery of armed Patriot missiles on Polish soil.

Some European analysts said the US move could help the traditionally pro-American region to build a more pragmatic relationship with both Washington and Moscow.

A senior Iranian government source said the move could signal a move away from what he called 'threats and confrontation' over Iran's nuclear program.

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