Czech Republic Agrees To Host U.S. Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) Radar; NATO Endorses Planned GMD System Installation On Czech, Polish Sites
NATO Sees GMD System As Substantial Contribution To Counter ‘Increasing Threat’ To Allied Forces, Territories, Populations, Posed By Ballistic Missile Proliferation; Key U.S. Republicans Hail Both Czech, NATO Statements Favoring GMD
President Bush won surprising, major progress for American plans to place a missile defense system in Europe, harvesting both a 100 percent endorsement from NATO member nations and critically required permission from the Czechs to install missile defense gear on their territory.
First, the Czech Republic agreed to provide the site for a U.S. Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) radar installation to guard against missiles launched by nations such as Iran, the Czechs announced.
Second, NATO unanimously endorsed the GMD ballistic missile defense plan, despite widespread opposition to it among some European populations.
It was a signal pair of victories on the world stage for a president widely seen as a unilateralist or cowboy leader scornful of international opinions.
Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg announced a deal was reached, while he and Bush attended the NATO summit in Bucharest, Romania.
Polish leaders have said they are very near agreement to permit the United States to install a GMD interceptors site in their country, placing silos in the ground.
With the Czech agreement now a reality, as soon as a U.S.-Polish agreement is reached, that will unlock millions of dollars for construction of the European GMD system, money that Congress last year froze until the agreements were attained. The Boeing Co. [BA] leads the GMD program.
Schwarzenberg said negotiations with the United States on placing the radar at a Czech site are complete, and the official agreement between the two countries will be signed in Prague early next month.
The Czech Republic government distributed a joint U.S.-Czech statement that said:
“This legally-binding agreement calls for the stationing of a U.S. radar in the Czech Republic to track ballistic missiles.
“This agreement is an important step in our efforts to protect our nations and our NATO allies from the growing threat posed by the proliferation of the ballistic missiles and weapons of mass destruction.”
That referred to Middle Eastern nations such as Iran, which is amassing missiles of steadily longer range. Iran also has fired missiles in a mass salvo test, launched a missile from a submerged submarine, and announced plans to place a satellite in orbit, which involves the same basic technology as an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
As well, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said Israel should be wiped from the map, and some Iranian leaders have denied the Holocaust ever occurred.
Iran also persists in defying world opinion by continuing to develop nuclear materials, which it claims would be used to power an electrical generating plant, even though Russia already has sent Iran enough nuclear materials to power such a generator.
Western leaders fear that Iran instead will use the materials to build nuclear weapons to place atop its missiles, leading to nuclear blackmail of other Middle Eastern nations, European nations and the United States.
To block Iran from doing that, a GMD ballistic missile defense system would essentially make Iranian missiles useless, meaning that if Iran ever launched a nuclear-tipped missile, it could be shot down and obliterated.
President Bush has said this is the reason the United States wishes to build the GMD at this third site, in addition to existing GMD systems in Alaska and California.
Bush-Putin Summit
Bush reassured Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a weekend meeting at Putin’s Black Sea home, that the GMD interceptor missiles in no way could defeat Russian intercontinental ballistic missiles, as Putin and other Russian leaders have asserted.
The Russian leader responded after the summit meeting that there was room for discussion in proposals Bush presented for Russia and the United States to work together on European missile defense.
Putin was very mild-mannered, compared to earlier bombastic outbursts against the GMD plan. However, he declined to endorse it during their informal summit meeting. He at least was somewhat receptive to the possibility that the United States and Russia might cooperate on the issue. For example, one plan discussed would involve linking the GMD radars and Russian radar installations.
Separately, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said last week that she hopes Russians and Americans can cooperate on missile defense.
In comments after the meeting, Putin said there was room to work with developments thus far.
“In March at the 2-plus-2 meeting, and earlier today in my conversation with President Bush, we have been offered a set of confidence-building and transparency measures in the field of missile defense, and we can feel that the president of the United States takes a very serious approach here and is sincerely willing to resolve this problem,” Putin said.
“We do support this approach, and certainly, in principle, adequate measures of confidence-building and transparency can be found. They can be important and useful in addressing these kinds of issues. Thus, we now have room for cooperation; we’re ready for such interaction.”
But Putin indicated that as to whether a deal actually will emerge, the devil is in the details.
“As far as the concrete substance of the U.S. proposals, it is too early to speak about it at this point. It is up to the experts to discuss the technical details of these proposals, and it is up to them to make any final conclusions. And the alternative that we offered last year is still relevant. We hope that it will be an issue for discussion in the future.” Russia then offered to have one of its radars used to feed data to the GMD system.
Putin, who soon will step down from office, previously has attempted to bully European nations, to frighten them away from accepting or endorsing the GMD system.
At various points, Putin and other Russian leaders have vowed to use military force to destroy any GMD system that may be installed in Europe; to aim Russian intercontinental ballistic missiles at European cities in a throwback to Cold War days, and more.
But all that bluster came to naught, as the Americans won the Czech deal and the NATO endorsement. Tellingly, NATO member nations came to conclusions that mirrored Bush’s selling points for the GMD system.
For example, a NATO communiqu� agreed that Europe faces a rising threat as ever more nations obtain ballistic missiles.
Further, NATO members see missile defense as vital to countering that burgeoning threat, and said specifically that the U.S. GMD system would make a “substantial contribution” to that end.
“Ballistic missile proliferation poses an increasing threat to Allies’ forces, territory and populations,” according to the NATO statement. “Missile defence forms part of a broader response to counter this threat. We therefore recognise the substantial contribution to the protection of Allies from long range ballistic missiles to be provided by the planned deployment of European based United States missile defence assets.”
NATO nations see the U.S. GMD system as forming part of a layered missile defense capability, in which the GMD interceptors would take out longer-range enemy missile threats while emergent NATO missile defense systems would counter shorter-range enemy weapons.
U.S.-NATO Missile Defense
“We are exploring ways to link this [GMD] capability with current NATO missile defence efforts as a way to ensure that it would be an integral part of any future NATO wide missile defence architecture,” the NATO nations noted in the statement. “Bearing in mind the principle of the indivisibility of Allied security as well as NATO solidarity, we task the Council in Permanent Session to develop options for a comprehensive missile defence architecture to extend coverage to all Allied territory and populations not otherwise covered by the United States system for review at our 2009 Summit, to inform any future political decision.”
NATO leaders as well urged U.S.-NATO-Russian cooperation on missile defense.
“We also commend the work already underway to strengthen NATO Russia missile defence cooperation,” the statement continued.
“We are committed to maximum transparency and reciprocal confidence building measures to allay any concerns” that Russia might have.
Putin and other Russian leaders have, for example, alleged that U.S. GMD interceptors could take down Russian ICBMs. Bush and other U.S. leaders have scoffed at that assertion, saying there would be but a handful of GMD interceptors versus hundreds of Russian missiles and warheads. Further, the interceptors don’t have the speed required to catch Russian ICBMs.
“We encourage the Russian Federation to take advantage of United States missile defence cooperation proposals and we are ready to explore the potential for linking United States, NATO and Russian missile defence systems at an appropriate time,” the NATO statement announced.
To be sure, beyond installing missile defense systems, the NATO nations also see other means as vital to countering rising missile threats.
“We reaffirm that arms control, disarmament [including reduction in nuclear weapons] and non proliferation will continue to make an important contribution to peace, security, and stability and, in this regard, to preventing the spread and use of Weapons of Mass Destruction and their means of delivery,” NATO leaders asserted.
“The Alliance has reduced both its conventional forces significantly from Cold War levels and has reduced nuclear weapons assigned to NATO by over 90 percent,” the statement observed. “Allies have also reduced their nuclear arsenals. France has reduced the types of its nuclear systems to two, the number of its nuclear delivery vehicles by over half, and has announced it will reduce the number of its nuclear warheads to fewer than 300, with no other weapons beside those in its operational stockpile. The United Kingdom has reduced to one nuclear system, and has reduced the explosive power of its nuclear stockpile by 75 percent, and its number of operationally available nuclear warheads to fewer than 160. The United States has reduced its nuclear weapon stockpile to less than 25 percent of its size at the height of the Cold War, and decreased tactical nuclear weapons assigned to NATO by nearly 90 percent.”
Unfortunately, however, while these industrialized nations are reducing their nuclear capabilities, the fear is that rogue nations may be increasing theirs.
“We remain deeply concerned about the proliferation risks of the Iranian nuclear and ballistic missile programmes,” the statement explained, urging Iran to comply with United Nations Security Council resolutions calling on it to cease its nuclear program.
North Korea, too, attracted concern and condemnation from NATO nations.
“We are also deeply concerned by the proliferation activities of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and call on it to fully comply with” U.N. resolutions demanding that the insular Asian regime surrender its nuclear weapons and progams.
“Allies agree to redouble their efforts to fully implement the non proliferation agreements and relevant [Security Council resolutions] to which Allies reaffirm their support and by which they are bound.”
U.S. Lawmakers Hail Progress
Back in the United States, Republican leaders in Congress lauded the Czech Republic for agreeing to host the GMD radar, and praised NATO for endorsing the GMD system.
Rep. Duncan Hunter of California, ranking Republican on the House Armed Services Committee (HASC), led the chorus.
“We commend the member countries of NATO for recognizing the mutual missile and nuclear threats to our countries,” Hunter said.
“By endorsing the deployment of a radar in the Czech Republic and ten interceptors in Poland, NATO has taken a step toward protecting our common interests.”
He added, “the Czech Republic should be applauded for finalizing an agreement with the United States to place the radar on Czech soil.”
Hunter said Russia and the United States should join “to develop common missile defense systems. One possible area of cooperation would be the basing of Navy Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense ships in Black Sea ports. This concept would provide defense to areas of southeastern Europe not currently covered by the NATO-endorsed proposal and would provide a unique opportunity to cooperate with Russia.”
Rep. Terry Everett of Alabama, ranking Republican on the HASC strategic forces subcommittee that oversees missile defense program, also hailed NATO.
“Given the current and emerging threats around the world, NATO should be commended for endorsing the plan to deploy U.S. missile defense capabilities in Europe. Missile and nuclear threats endanger all of our nations. By working together to build a common missile defense architecture, we will take a step closer to protecting the American people, our NATO allies, other allies and friends in the region and our forward-deployed forces.”
Everett also praised the Czechs for agreeing to provide the GMD radar site:
“We must also congratulate the Czech and U.S. negotiators for finalizing a bilateral agreement to station a U.S. radar in the Czech Republic to track ballistic missiles.”
Rep. Roscoe Bartlett of Maryland, ranking Republican on the HASC seapower and expeditionary forces subcommittee with oversight of sea-based missile defense ships, said the GMD installation would be “an important cooperative step with America’s European allies toward a safer world. I also support additional cooperative efforts with Russia to prevent, deter and defend against weapons of mass destruction.”
An enduring proponent of missile defense, Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.), said the actions at the NATO meeting are a breakthrough in advancing missile defense.
“NATO’s endorsement of the missile interceptor site in Europe is a tremendous step in advancing defensive systems to protect the citizens of many nations from the common threat of Middle Eastern ballistic missiles,” Franks said. “We must continue cooperating to deploy an effective missile shield against our shared enemies. Our friends in the Czech Republic who have agreed to host the X-band radar deserve great accolade as they have boldly acted to defend innocent lives, in spite of Russia’s saber rattling. It is my great hope that our friends in Poland will quickly take similar action to finalize an agreement to host the 10 interceptors.”