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Archived News Articles: NMD and Foreign Policy
5/28/2001 from AP:
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20010528/wl/russia_us_defense_2.html
Russian Dismisses Arms Deal Rumors
By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV, Associated Press Writer
Monday May 28 10:53 AM ET
MOSCOW (AP) - Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov on
Monday dismissed a reported U.S. offer to purchase arms
from Russia in exchange for Moscow's agreement to scrap
the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.
``If such proposals come - we have not yet received them
- I am sure that they will not solve the ABM issue,''
Ivanov told a news conference.
His was the first official Russian response to a New
York Times report Monday that the Bush administration
hoped to win Moscow's assent to Washington's withdrawal
from the 1972 ABM treaty with purchases of Russian
weapons, possibly including S-300 surface-to-air
missiles, joint anti-missile exercises and military aid.
5/29/2001 from Reuters and AP:
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010529/pl/nato_leadall_dc_1.html
U.S. Soothes Allies, Moscow on Missile Plan
By Richard Murphy
Tuesday May 29 3:26 PM ET
BUDAPEST (Reuters) - The United States sought to
reassure both its NATO allies and Russia on Tuesday that
it would not develop a controversial missile defense
system without consulting them. ...
``I made it clear to them that this is a real
consultation that President Bush wants...and not a phony
consultation,'' Powell added. ``At the same time I made
it clear to them that we know we have to move forward.
We can see the threat. The threat is clear and we have
to deal with that threat. ..."
NATO Secretary-General George Robertson urged allies to
be ready to spend more on improving equipment and
preparedness to face future crises that could call for a
military response. ``This means tough decisions must be
taken now to build the right kind of defense forces and
ensure the required and appropriate funding for them,''
he said. ``NATO does not want to be stuck riding a paper
tiger.''
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20010529/wl/powell_nato_13.html
NATO Won't Back U.S. Defense Plan
By TOM RAUM, Associated Press Writer
Tuesday May 29 4:28 PM ET
BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) - NATO refused to endorse the
Bush administration's missile defense plans Tuesday
despite efforts by Secretary of State Colin Powell to
convince U.S. allies that they face a common threat of
attack. ...
On missile defense, the final statement said NATO allies
``welcome the consultations initiated by President Bush
on the U.S. strategic review, including missile
defense.'' ...
Powell later told a news conference, ``I didn't take a
poll around the room of everybody's views, but I think I
can safely say that there is a recognition there's a
threat out there...Some people see it as more immediate
than others. Some people see it as greater than perhaps
others. But I don't think there's any question that
there's some sort of threat out there.''
5/30/2001 from AP:
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20010530/pl/nato_powell_1.html
U.S. Satisfied With Missile Reaction
By TOM RAUM, Associated Press Writer
Wednesday May 30 9:33 AM ET
BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) - The Bush administration has
``everything we want at this stage'' from NATO allies on
a contentious missile defense program, Secretary of
State Colin Powell's spokesman (Richard Boucher)
asserted Wednesday. ...
6/9/2001 from The Philadelphia Inquirer:
http://inq.philly.com/content/inquirer/2001/06/09/national/DEFENSE09.htm
Senate arms chair vows fight over missile system
By Jonathan S. Landay
INQUIRER WASHINGTON BUREAU
Saturday, June 9, 2001
WASHINGTON - The new Democratic chairman of the Senate
Armed Services Committee said yesterday that he would
fight any bid by the Bush administration to build a
ballistic missile-defense system that was not fully
tested and proved to work. Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan,
in his first interview since becoming chairman this
week, said he would use his power over the Pentagon
budget to "try to stop the funding" for a premature
missile-defense system that he argued could be "very
dangerous, very destabilizing" because it could heighten
tension with China and Russia. ...
Levin favors "robust" research and development of
missile defenses. But before building a national missile
shield, he said, "we should first have a system which
has been tested. We should have a system which is
operationally effective. You should know the cost. You
should at least consider the negative consequences."
Levin said he would try to deny any requests for money
to begin deploying a system that was not sufficiently
tested, or for missile-defense tests banned by the
Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, which prohibits Moscow
and Washington from building national missile shields.
Rumsfeld on Thursday said the administration had
concluded that tests that might violate the treaty would
be necessary. Levin said such tests should not be
conducted before Russia agreed to rewrite the ABM Treaty
to allow limited national missile defenses, or
negotiated an arrangement with the United States that
preserved the treaty's goals. ...Levin accused Bush of
not fully considering the consequences of junking the
ABM Treaty and deploying an unproved national
missile-defense system. ...
6/9/2001 from U.S. Newswire:
http://www.usnewswire.com/topnews/Current_Releases/0607-137.html
Citizens Against Star Wars to Rally at White House
U.S. Newswire
7 Jun 15:28
As Russia and NATO Say "No" To NMD, Increasingly, So Do Americans;
Citizens Against Star Wars To Rally At White House
Sunday, June 10, a 2 p.m. rally in Lafayette Park across
from
the White House will register widespread public
opposition to
the Bush administration's push for a national missile
defense
(NMD). ...
The rally kicks off three days of citizen activism in
Washington against NMD, sponsored by a broad- based
coalition of
national citizens' groups with combined membership of
over
100,000. The groups include Women's Actions for New
Directions,
Physicians for Social Responsibility , Peace Links,
Global
Security Institute, Peace Action, and The Nation
Institute. ...
The rally and the other "Stop the New Arms Race" events
take
place leading up to President Bush's June 12 departure
for the
EU and Moscow summits, where for the first time he will
face
European and Russian opposition to NMD first hand, but
where he
cannot legitimately argue a majority of Americans
solidly
support his NMD proposal, organizers say. ...
6/9/2001 from Council for a Livable World Education Fund:
http://www.clw.org/ef/bmddreams.html
Missile Defense: Wishing Won't Make it So
Press Release: June 8, 2001
Contact: John Isaacs - 202.543.4100 x. 131 or Chris
Madison - 202.546.0795 x. 135
The Bush Administration's rush to deploy a scaled down
missile defense system by 2004 is nothing more than a
"foot in the door" for Boeing and disastrous for U.S.
security, the Council for a Livable World Education Fund
said today.
"The Bush plan is the worst of all possible worlds. It
means building something before we know if it will work;
spending huge amounts of money we don't have; breaking
the ABM treaty when our allies are strongly opposed to
such action; and putting U.S. security at risk, all to
appease the Republican right wing. It's outrageous. It's
like the Pentagon is living in an Alice-in-Wonderland
reality," said John Isaacs, president of the Council for
a Livable World.
The Bush plans for deploying five missile interceptors
in Alaska by 2004, leaked on the eve of the President's
first trip to meet with NATO partners and with Russian
leader Vladimir Putin, appears to be an effort to bully
our NATO allies, who do not see the need for the U.S. to
deploy an anti-missile system, into concluding they have
no chance of derailing the Administration's efforts.
"Simply using words like 'inescapable' and 'inevitable'
to describe these half-baked plans won't make them come
true," said Chris Madison, who directs the Education
Fund's National Missile Defense Project. "The fact is,
there is no consensus in the Senate, no consensus in the
country and no consensus among our allies that this is
the best way to proceed." ...
http://www.clw.org/bmd.html
6/9/2001 from AP: http://www.newportindependent.com/display/ap/Headlines/V3714.itm.html
Russia Opposed to Bush Missile Plan
By ROBERT BURNS
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) _ The heart of President Bush's
case for building a missile defense _ that the United
States is threatened by long-range missiles _ is
"entirely hypothetical," Russia's defense chief said
Friday. There are plenty of other threats, he said. ...
Missile defense is expected to be one of the main
focuses of Bush's trip to Europe next week, including a
meeting June 13 in Brussels of presidents and prime
ministers from all 19 NATO countries as well as Bush's
first face-to-face meeting with Russian President
Vladimir Putin on June 16. ...
In Washington on Friday, Senate Majority Leader Tom
Daschle, D-S.D., said he cannot see the logic of going
forward with missile defense before proving it works.
"We're not opposed to research, but to commit that level
of revenue to a concept that may or may not prove to be
practical or even doable is something that I'm mystified
by," Daschle said. The Bush administration is
considering a system that might be rushed into
rudimentary operation as early as 2004, possibly relying
on weapons aboard ships or planes as well as on land. ...
6/10/2001 from The Hindu:
http://www.indiaserver.com/thehindu/2001/06/07/stories/0107000a.htm
Russia 'sways' India on ABM Treaty
By Vladimir Radyuhin
MOSCOW, JUNE 6. Russia appears to have swayed India back
to its view on strategic stability and the 1972
Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty. ...
Mr. Jaswant Singh confirmed India's opposition to
unilateral abrogation of the ABM Treaty mooted by the
United States. ``If this treaty is unilaterally
abrogated, abridged or adjusted, this will lead to
greater uncertainty instead of promoting a new more
cooperative security framework,'' Mr. Singh told
reporters on Wednesday at the end of his three days of
talks in Moscow. ``That is why we are recommending to
the United States that any step in that direction must
be made with Russia and in consultation with Russia.''
The stand articulated by Mr. Singh in Moscow effectively
waters down India's support for the U.S.-proposed global
security set-up based on the renunciation of the ABM
Treaty and the construction of a national missile
defence. Moscow is strongly opposed to the U.S. plans
and wants to preserve the ABM Treaty. ...
Mr. Singh said the defence talks were ``the most
productive and result-oriented encounter we have ever
had.'' India announced plans to step up defence
purchases in Russia and the two countries are to
undertake joint development of new arms for the air
force, navy and the army. ...
6/10/2001 from AP and CNN:
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20010610/pl/against_the_world_2.html
U.S. at Odds on Some World Issues
By TOM RAUM, Associated Press Writer
Sunday June 10 1:23 PM ET
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush came into office
promising a ``humble'' foreign policy, yet his
administration has managed to irritate friend and foe
alike.
Five months into Bush's term, the United States stands
against the world on issues stretching from missile
defense and the environment to trade and even the death
penalty.
Many European allies are troubled by what they see as
growing U.S. ``unilateralism,'' or a determination to go
it alone, sometimes in seeming defiance of much of the
rest of the world.
``The rest of the world thinks we're a big bully,'' said
Ivo Daalder, a a national security official in the
Clinton administration who is now with the Brookings
Institution. ...
http://www.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/europe/06/10/bush.spain/index.html Spaniards protest over Bush visit
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