Long-Range Ballistic Missile Defense in Europe
Abstract
Successive administrations have urged the creation of an antimissile system to protect against long-range ballistic missile threats from rogue states. The Bush Administration believes that North Korea and Iran are strategic threats and questions whether they can be deterred by conventional means. The Administration has built long-range missile defense bases in Alaska and California to protect against North Korean missile threats. Although the system has been tested, most agree that further testing is necessary. The Administration has proposed deploying a ground-based mid-course defense (GMD) element of the larger Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS) in Europe to defend against an Iranian missile threat. The system would include 10 interceptors in Poland and a radar in the Czech Republic to be completed by 2013 at a cost of $4.04 billion. The proposed U.S. system has encountered resistance in some European countries and beyond. Critics in Poland and the Czech Republic assert that neither country currently faces a notable threat from Iran, but that if American GMD facilities were installed, both countries might be targeted by missiles from rogue states and possibly from Russia. Some Europeans claim that GMD is another manifestation of American unilateralism, and assert that the Bush Administration did not consult sufficiently with NATO allies or with Russia, which the Administration argues was not the case. Other European leaders support the missile defense project. The GMD plan also has affected U.S.-Russia relations. President Putin has argued that the proposal would reignite the arms race and upset U.S.-Russian-European security relations. In mid-2007, Putin offered to cooperate on missile defense, proposing the use of a Russian-leased radar in Azerbaijan, but urging that U.S. facilities not be built in Eastern Europe. President Bush welcomed the apparent policy shift in principle, but insisted upon the need for the European sites. Russian criticisms continue.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 09, 2008
- Accession Number
- ADA476139
Entities
People
- Carl Ek
- Steven A. Hildreth
Organizations
- Library of Congress