US - defence

Obama defends smaller-scale missile defence plan in Europe

Article published on the 2009-09-17 Latest update 2009-09-17 15:38 TU

Russian doll faces of Russian President Dmitri Medvedev (g) and US president Barack Obama, Moscow, June 2009.
(Photo : Reuters)

Iran is the major threat that the US defence missile shield in Europe is meant to deflect, not Russia, said US president Barack Obama on Thursday in Washington DC. However, he said that a new approach takes into account that Iran's missile capability is less far-reaching.

"This new approach will provide capabilities sooner, build on proven systems and offer greater defenses against the threat of missile attack than the 2007 European missile defense program," Obama said in a brief statement.

"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 defense 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, and that US national security would be strengthened.

The Pentagon said on Thursday that a new more flexible system was required because the nature of the Iranian threat had changed said Defense Department spokesman Geoffrey Morrell. New intelligence reports have shown "that they are much more focused on developing short and medium range capabilities."

President Barack Obama ordered a review earlier this year of deals signed by the previous administration to build a radar station in the Czech Republic and install 10 interceptor missile in Poland.

Czech Prime Minister Jan Fischer said he was told in a late-night call from Obama that the shield would not go into place in the Czech Republic and that Poland had been given a similar message.

The plan had exacerbated tensions between Moscow and Washington with Russia moving its own ballistic missiles in November to the Baltic Sea territory of Kaliningrad.

Russia applauded the move, "the Obama administration is starting to understand us," said Konstantin Kosachev, the head of the Russian lower house of parliament's foreign affairs committee.

Poland and the Czech Republic, former Soviet bloc nations, however, were in less celebratory mood after the announcements on Thursday, by Obama and his defence leaders.

Mirek Topolanek, who was prime minister when Prague agreed to co-host the shield, said a US decision to drop it "is not good news for the Czech state, for Czech freedom and independence." This puts us in a position wherein we are not firmly anchored in terms of partnership, security and alliance, and that's a certain threat," he told Czech public radio.

In Poland, former president and Nobel laureate Lech Walesa said it might well be time for the nation to rethink its close relationship with the United States. "Observing Obama's policy, I expected it," said Walesa.

Senior US officials were in Prague and Warsaw on Thursday to discuss the shield. The United States was also to brief NATO allies in Brussels.