BlueHummingbird News - Archive

Archived News Articles: NMD and Foreign Policy

5/12/2001  from The New York Times:
                        Talks Don't Calm Foes of Antimissile Plan
                        By PATRICK E. TYLER The New York Times
                        Saturday May 12 01:31 AM EDT
                        "... Moscow's message today included a new warning from
                        military leaders that "Russia possesses the technical,
                        intellectual and technological potential" to respond to
                        a unilateral American deployment of missile defenses.
                        Prominent Russian foreign policy specialists have hinted
                        that Russia may provide China with technologies to
                        strengthen or expand its nuclear arsenal. ..."
                        "... In New Delhi, Deputy Secretary of State Richard L.
                        Armitage emerged "delighted" from talks with Prime
                        Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, who has applauded Mr.
                        Bush's proposal to make further reductions in nuclear
                        arsenals. But like most leaders consulted this week, Mr.
                        Vajpayee offered no endorsement for the Bush missile
                        defense plan. ... Mr. Armitage also singled out Pakistan
                        today as a possible "rogue" state - along with North
                        Korea, Iran and Iraq - whose missile programs were of
                        concern to the United States. While Mr. Armitage was in
                        New Dehli, the Chinese prime minister, Zhu Rongji, was
                        holding consultations with Pakistan's leaders."


5/12/2001  from AP:
                        http://news.excite.com/news/ap/010512/16/int-pakistan-china
                        Pakistan, China Warn Against U.S.
                        By AMIR ZIA, Associated Press Writer     Updated 4:43 PM
                        ET May 12, 2001
                         
                        ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) - China and Pakistan warned
                        Saturday that a U.S. missile shield program will trigger
                        a nuclear arms race ...


5/12/2001  from AP:                         http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20010512/wl/koreas_missile_defense_1.html
                         
                        NKorea Warns Seoul on Missiles
                        By SOO-JEONG LEE, Associated Press Writer
                        Saturday May 12 6:02 AM ET
                        SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - North Korea's state-run
                        newspaper warned Saturday that South Korea will be
                        doomed to ``ruin and death'' if it participates in
                        Washington's proposed missile defense system. ...


5/12/2001  from Reuters Top Stories:
                        http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/world/international-arms-au.html
                        Australia: U.S. Missile Plan Only Part of the Discussion
                        By REUTERS   May 12, 2001
                        ADELAIDE, Australia -- Australia expressed strong
                        support Saturday for the United States' proposed
                        anti-missile shield, but said other arms control issues
                        like a comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty also needed
                        to be on the agenda. Australia's Foreign Affairs
                        Minister Alexander Downer said he believed the U.S.
                        missile defense system would go ahead with broad
                        international support, despite misgivings expressed by a
                        range of nations, including Russia, China, Germany and
                        France. ``It will proceed,'' he told reporters after
                        meeting with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State James
                        Kelly in Adelaide. ...Officials said Kelly would leave
                        Australia Saturday for Singapore, ahead of his visit
                        Monday to Beijing, which has said it is ``firmly
                        opposed'' to the missile defense plan. ...


5/13/2001  Old article at CBS:
                        http://cbsnews.com/now/story/0,1597,223262-412,00.shtml
                        ClA Report Warns Of Nuclear Arms Race
                        WASHINGTON, August 10, 2000

                        (AP) A new U.S. intelligence report predicts China would
                        accelerate its nuclear arms buildup if the United States
                        erected a national defense against long-range missiles. ...


5/13/2001  Opinion from the L.A. Times:
                        http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/20010513/t000040205.html
                        Star Struck
                        By FRANCES FITZGERALD
                        Sunday, May 13, 2001
                        "Like his predecessors, George W. Bush has promised a
                        missile defense he may have difficulty delivering. ..."


5/14/2001  from AP:
                        http://wire.ap.org/APnews/?SITE=COBOU&FRONTID=HOME
                        N.Korea Warns U.S. on Missile Plan
                        MAY 13, 22:42 EST
                        SEOUL, South Korea (AP) North Korea warned Sunday that
                        it would take a ``strong'' countermeasure if the United
                        States tries to build an anti-missile shield. ...``We
                        will take a strong countermeasure if the U.S. deploys
                        missile defense under the pretext of a 'threat' from
                        (North Korea),'' said a commentary in the North's
                        official communist party newspaper, Rodong Sinmun. ``Our
                        countermeasure will not be bound to anything and we will
                        not care about an arms race.'' ...


5/14/2001  from MSNBC News Services:
                        http://www.msnbc.com/msn/573048.asp
                        EU establishes ties with North Korea
                        BRUSSELS, Belgium, May 14 The European Commission
                        announced Monday it will establish diplomatic relations
                        with North Korea to facilitate European efforts to
                        secure reconciliation on the Korean peninsula. The move
                        follows gradually improving relations between Western
                        Europe and the communist state just as the United States
                        is reviewing its ties with the Pyongyang government. ...


5/14/2001  from AP:
                        http://news.excite.com/news/ap/010514/11/us-russia
                        U.S. Wants ABM Treaty Revisited
                        By GEORGE GEDDA, Associated Press Writer
                        Updated 11:42 AM ET May 14, 2001
                        WASHINGTON (AP) - Secretary of State Colin Powell said
                        Monday the United States hopes to coax Russia into
                        accepting the view that changes in the global security
                        situation require a reexamination of the Anti-Ballistic
                        Missile Treaty of 1972.
                        Powell acknowledged in an interview with CNN that the
                        Russians remain unconvinced about the administration's
                        desire to build a national missile defense system to
                        deal with the new realities. But, he said, the United
                        States is willing to take Russian views into account,
                        noting that a senior U.S. delegation visited Moscow last
                        week and that Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov will
                        be here for talks this Friday.
                         
                        "It's the beginning of a process of consultation,"
                        Powell said. He also said Russia itself may benefit from
                        having a missile defense capability. Responding to
                        suggestions that the United States is pursuing a
                        go-it-alone policy on a missile defense, ignoring the
                        sentiments of allies as well as Russia and China, Powell
                        said, "there is nothing peremptory about this. There is
                        nothing unilateralist about this. There's nothing
                        arrogant about it."  ...


5/14/2001  from AP:
                        http://news.excite.com/news/ap/010514/17/us-russia
                        U.S. To Construct Missile Defense
                        By BARRY SCHWEID, AP Diplomatic Writer
                        Updated 5:28 PM ET May 14, 2001
                        WASHINGTON (AP) - The Bush administration affirmed
                        Monday it would construct a defense against missiles, if
                        one is needed, whatever Russia and other nations may
                        think of the plan.  President Bush and Secretary of
                        State Colin Powell are expected to make the point when
                        they meet Friday with the Russian Foreign Minister Igor
                        Ivanov.
                        Also:
                        http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20010514/pl/us_russia_3.html
                        Asked Monday if the United States would go ahead anyhow
                        if Bush and his senior advisers opted for a missile
                        shield, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said
                        ``the secretary has made clear, the president has made
                        clear that we intend to proceed with defense, and
                        defense is part of our ... strategic framework.''


5/14/2001  from Reuters:                         http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010514/wl/arms_usa_russia_dc_5.html
                        Russian Official Calls U.S. Missile Scheme Laughable
                        By Ron Popeski
                        MOSCOW (Reuters) - An adviser to President Vladimir
                        Putin said in interviews published on Monday that U.S.
                        arguments to justify its planned missile shield made him
                        laugh, but he predicted Washington would build the
                        system anyway. ... Sergeyev said Russia was now
                        ``certain the United States will proceed with
                        construction of a national anti-missile system.'' ...


5/16/2001  from Reuters:                         http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010516/pl/arms_canada_usa_dc_1.html
                        Canada in Dark Over U.S. Missile Defense Plan
                        By David Ljunggren
                        Wednesday May 16 12:25 PM ET
                        OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada is still largely in the dark
                        about a proposed U.S. missile defense system, despite a
                        visit by a top-level delegation from Washington to
                        discuss the controversial concept. ...
                        But the country's most influential newspaper, the Globe
                        and Mail, said on Wednesday that the Canadian stance had
                        become an international embarrassment. ``Missile defense
                        is a bad idea -- expensive, unproven, unnecessary,
                        illegal and destabilizing. If Canada really counts
                        itself a friend of the United States, it will stop
                        pulling its punches and say so,'' the paper said in its
                        lead editorial. ...
                        Canadian officials said it was clear the United States
                        had little idea of what kind of system it would choose,
                        how it might work, where it would be based, how much it
                        would cost and what effect it might have on global
                        security. ...
                        Canada will now start an active round of consultations
                        with its NATO allies as well as with Russia and China,
                        both of which oppose NMD.


5/17/2001  from AP:
                        http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20010517/pl/us_defense_1.html
                        Rumsfeld Meets Lawmakers on Defense
                        By CAROLYN SKORNECK, Associated Press Writer
                        Thursday May 17 1:14 PM ET
                        WASHINGTON (AP) - Top national security officials were
                        touring the Capitol Thursday to sell the Bush
                        administration's defense plans to members of Congress
                        who will be influential in deciding whether those plans
                        become reality. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld,
                        conducting a comprehensive review of U.S. military
                        strategy, was meeting with the chairmen and top
                        Democrats of key House and Senate committees to brief
                        them on that effort.
                        The first stop by Bush administration officials was the
                        Republican House Policy Committee, where lawmakers were
                        told allies had a strongly positive response during
                        consultations on U.S. plans to build a national missile
                        defense, said Rep. Christopher Cox, R-Calif. He is
                        chairman of the panel. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul
                        Wolfowitz and Rich Falkenrath of the National Security
                        Council staff recently visited government leaders in
                        several European and Asian capitals and spoke to the
                        policy committee about those consultations. ``The clear
                        thinking President Bush expressed in his May 1 speech
                        had a refreshing impact around the world,'' Cox said in
                        a statement. That's a far different assessment than the
                        one given Tuesday by Rear Adm. Craig Quigley, a Pentagon
                        spokesman, who said foreign reaction was mixed. ...


5/17/2001  from Reuters:                         http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010517/pl/arms_vietnam_usa_dc_1.html
                        Vietnam Says No Talks Held on U.S. Military Base
                        Thursday May 17 6:28 AM ET
                        HANOI (Reuters) - The Vietnamese government said on
                        Thursday it had not talked to the United States about
                        the possibility of establishing a U.S. military base in
                        Vietnam. ...
                        On Tuesday, a report authorized by a senior aide to
                        President Bush advocated major adjustments to U.S.
                        strategy and military posture in Asia, including
                        developing Guam as a key military hub and possibly
                        opening new bases in Oman and Vietnam. ...
                        In March, Russian President Vladimir Putin paid a visit
                        to Vietnam, during which he and counterpart Tran Duc
                        Luong declared a new strategic partnership covering
                        military, trade and economic cooperation.


From AP: 5/18/02
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20010518/us/defense_army_critic_1.html
                        Ex-Army Chief: Bush Strategy Wrong
                        By ROBERT BURNS, AP Military Writer
                        Friday May 18 5:33 PM ET
                        WASHINGTON (AP) - The man who guided the Army's first
                        post-Cold War cutbacks says the Bush administration
                        appears headed toward the ``easy but erroneous''
                        conclusion that space and missile defense, rather than
                        ground forces, should be the main building blocks of
                        U.S. security. ...


5/18/2001  from Reuters:                         http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010518/pl/russia_usa_consultations_dc_1.html
                        Powell Says Limit on U.S. Arms Consultations
                        Friday May 18 6:07 PM ET
                        WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Secretary of State Colin Powell
                        said on Friday there was a limit to consultations with
                        other countries on U.S. plans for missile defense after
                        which Washington would have to take action in its own
                        interests. ...


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