Bush Scores Huge Win: NATO Endorses U.S. Missile Shield In Europe
Related from The Swamp: Bush Scores!!!
BUCHAREST, Romania- President Bush won NATO’s endorsement Thursday for his plan to build a missile defense system in Europe over Russian objections. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called it a “breakthrough agreement” for the military alliance.
“Now it is clearly understood in the alliance that the challenges of the 21st century, the threats of the 21st century, make it necessary to have missile defense that can defend the countries of Europe,” Rice told reporters at the NATO summit.
Progress on missile defense represented perhaps the biggest boon to Bush from the NATO summit. Russia has fiercely opposed it.
Rice also noted that NATO has “also asked Russia to stop its criticism of the alliance effort and to join in the cooperative efforts that have been offered to it by the United States.”
A NATO statement calls on the alliance to explore ways in which the planned U.S. project, to be based in Poland and the Czech Republic, can be linked with future missile shields elsewhere. It says leaders should come up with recommendations to be considered at their next meeting in 2009.
The U.S. plan calls for 10 interceptor missiles based in Poland and a tracking radar site in the Czech Republic.
At a news conference in Bucharest on the sidelines of the NATO summit, Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwartzenberg announced that negotiations with the Americans have been successfully completed and that a deal would be signed in early May.
The Poles have yet to agree to the plan, but in Warsaw on Thursday, talks picked up between Polish and U.S. officials about it.
The backing from NATO and the announcement with the Czechs provides Bush with a powerful leg up in his negotiations with Moscow over the issue.
Bush is seeing Russian President Vladimir Putin twice this week—during the NATO summit and in one-on-one meetings planned for this weekend in Sochi, Russia. White House officials have talked optimistically in recent days that the weekend meeting could break the missile defense logjam.
Rice said she was hopeful that Bush and Putin would agree on a broad framework for cooperation between the countries, but it was still unclear whether they would reach a deal on missile defense. The administration has worked to allay Russian leaders’ fears that the system is a threat to them.
“We hope that we can move beyond that to an undertstanding that we will all have an interest in cooperation on missile defense,” Rice said. “But we will see.”
(AP)
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We’ll be seeing that PhotoShopped Bush pic on the KosTard’s website before the day is done. The defense shield news is great, though.
April 3rd, 2008 at 10:26 amExcellent. If the Iraniacs or NK or anyone decides to fire a missile at a European city, it will be shot down post-haste. The system has already proven its capability with that satelight shoot-down. Testing has been excellent.
The system is strategically placed to catch rougue missiles from the ME. And Putie knows what’s up. He’s been told already. Any BS comming from him is just BS. Get over the Cold War Putie. Join the West. Our enemy is your enemy.
April 3rd, 2008 at 10:38 am“Although NATO leaders disagreed with the Bush administration on bringing Georgia and the Ukraine into the alliance” : that was the counterpart, also Merkel/Sarko will organise the next summit in 2009 ; Macedoine was vetoed by Grece therefore nothing new at the east front
April 3rd, 2008 at 10:46 amNATO should have allowed Ukraine and others to join…
April 3rd, 2008 at 12:08 pmfmder
couldn’t be possible in the actual configuration : it is question that Nato becomes an EU preminent force in the future ;
till now the former eastern EU conrties that adhered to Nato got the opportunity essentially to confort their ties with the western world, thus accession to the EU communauty too. Now, Georgia and Ukraine that want to join Nato with the same expectation is not in the projects at the moment. We have to finalise and consolid the reunification of the last ones that joined us.
Georgia and Ukraine never were historically dependant on our history, but more on Russia’s, Turkey, and, in the antiquity, on the Anatolian different kingdoms.
April 3rd, 2008 at 12:27 pmWith SA and other ME nations saying they will pursue nuclear weapons if Iran produces their own, this shield will be an absolute necessity to protect Israel and Europe.
April 3rd, 2008 at 2:27 pmI love it when these two meet. The shit usually hits the fan a couple months later.
April 3rd, 2008 at 3:00 pm