President Barack Obama on Thursday dumped a Bush-era missile defence plan for Europe that Russia had bitterly opposed and offered what he said would be faster, more flexible defence systems to protect against Iran. In a move that could spur fears of resurgent Kremlin influence, Obama said he had approved recommendations from US military leaders to shift focus to defending against Iran's short- and medium-range missiles.
"This new approach will provide capabilities sooner, build on proven systems and offer greater defences against the threat of missile attack," Obama said, scrapping plans put in place by his White House predecessor George W. Bush for ground-based interceptors in Poland and a related radar site in the Czech Republic.
Under the new US plan, missile interceptors would initially be placed on ships and land-based defence systems would be fielded in a second phase. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev hailed the decision, which removed an issue clouding US efforts to enlist Russian support on Afghanistan, Iran and nuclear arms control.
"We value the US president's responsible approach towards implementing our agreements," Medvedev said in an address shown on national television. "I am ready to continue the dialogue." But critics accused the White House of dangerous weakness. The Bush plans for the missile shield had raised hopes of huge contracts among US defence giants, although analysts said weapons makers were still likely to profit.
Senator John McCain, the Republican presidential candidate who lost to Obama in 2008, blasted the move as "seriously misguided" and former US ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton, a leading Bush-era hawk, was scathing. "It's just unambiguously a bad decision," Bolton said. "Russia and Iran are the big winners. I just think it's a bad day for American national security." The Bush administration had proposed the system amid concerns Iran was trying to develop nuclear warheads it could mount on long-range missiles. But Russia saw it as a threat to its own missile defences and overall security.
THE NEW APPROACH Outlining the new approach, Defence Secretary Robert Gates said the United States would deploy Aegis-equipped ships with interceptors capable of shooting down ballistic missiles to defend both European allies and US forces.
Gates said land-based defence systems would be fielded in a second phase starting in about 2015. "Those who say we are scrapping missile defence 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.
"Clearly it is a shift in the specific components of the missile defence system, the architecture of the missile defence system, but it continues our commitment to the security of Europe," State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said.
Shares of US companies involved in missile defence, including Boeing Co, Lockheed Martin Corp, Northrop Grumman Corp and Raytheon Co, were little changed in early trade on the New York Stock Exchange. The decision had been widely anticipated, with the contractors also likely to benefit from the administration's revised missile-defence plans. 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.
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