Bush: Need For Missile Defense In Europe Is Real And Urgent
WASHINGTON— President Bush said Tuesday that plans for a U.S.-led missile defense system in Europe are urgently needed to counter an emerging threat of attack by Iran.
“If (Iran) chooses to do so, and the international community does not take steps to prevent it, it is possible Iran could have this capability,” Bush said. “And we need to take it seriously — now.”
Bush’s latest warning about Iran’s nuclear ambitions came in a broad defense of his security policies at the National Defense University and it came not long after Defense Secretary Robert Gates told a news conference in the Czech Republic that the administration might delay activating the proposed missile defense sites until it has “definitive proof” of a missile threat from Iran.
In his speech here, Bush said intelligence estimates show that Iran could have the capability to strike the United States and many European allies by 2015.
“The need for missile defense in Europe is real, and I believe it’s urgent,” Bush said.
Bush’s warning about Iran was contradicted by Russian Foreign Minster Sergey Lavrov during a visit to Tokyo. He said U.S.-led missile defense initiatives in Europe and Asia are based on an erroneous assessment of the threat posed by Iran.
“North Korea poses a fundamental threat, but Iran does not,” Lavrov was quoted as telling Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura.
AP article by Ben Feller here.
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The U.S. trys to defend Europe and Russia tries to defend a terrorist state known as Iran. Who’s the real enemy?
October 23rd, 2007 at 11:08 amThe only reason PUKIN would object is that it neutralizes Russia as a threat as well. And, like Ahmawhateva, he enjoys being thought of as a threat.
October 23rd, 2007 at 11:23 ammay-be that too, but Bush is almost upset that his last proposition to Putin failed : forget about EU missiles if Putin went back on his support to Iran.
October 23rd, 2007 at 12:07 pmNorth Korea a threat? A diversion, more likely. Ever notice how many liberals will actively or tacitly support action against North Korea and will condemn action against Iran? They know (or at least bet) that the executioner’s axe will be wielded by Iran or Syria and since they desperately want the axe to fall on the American neck, they will do anything to pull the blindfold over the American eyes. They hope that America will never know what hit it. In this, they hope that America will get just what it deserves for all the “awful” things it has done for the past two centuries. If you don’t believe me, ask a professor.
October 23rd, 2007 at 7:01 pm