President Barak Obama announced on Thursday, September 17, that his administration will scrap former President George W. Bush's planned missile defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic and shift to counter potential long-range missiles by Iran. The decision had been made based on "unanimous recommendations" by his national security team, including Secretary of Defense Robery Gates and the Jjoint Chief of Staff, Obama said.
Shortly after President Obama took office, the missile defense shield that former President Bush fiercely advocated was open to assessment, said James McDonald, the chief of international security policy in Pentagon. Barack Obama has said that he is shifting a planned U.S. missile defense program… His administration's pledge, made soon after taking office.
During his visit to Russia, President Obama said the revised program will be cost-effective and based on update technology and threats assessments.
Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the U.S. government was "very close" to the end of a seven-month review of a missile defense shield proposal. Meanwhile, Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said Thursday, Sept. 17: "This improvement to the system has noting to do with Russia and everything to do with Iran."
The Obama administration's four-phase plan would deploy existing SM-3 interceptors using the sea-based Aegis system in 2011, then after more testing deploy in 2015 an improved version of the interceptors both on ships and on land along with advanced sensors. A still more advanced version of the interceptors would be deployed in 2018 and yet another generation in 2020, the latter with more capacity to counter possible future intercontinental missiles.
"President Bush was right that Iran's ballistic missile program poses a significant threat," Obama told reporters at the White House. But he said new assessments of the nature of the Iranian threat require a different system that would use existing technology and different locations. "This new approach will provide capabilities sooner, build on proven systems and offer greater defenses against the threat of missile attack than the 2007 European missile defense program," he said.
President Barack Obama called the leaders of Poland the Czech Republic, both NATO member countries, before his announced and said he "reaffirmed our deep and close ties.
Obama told Czech Prime Minster he was scrapping missile shield plan. A U.S. decision to abandon the radar heightens fears among some in Czech Republic. Former Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, a forceful backer of the U.S. Radar system, however acknowledged that the turnaround was bad. "A U.S. decision to drop it" is not good for the Czech state," he said.
The Obama administration would have to stand heavy pressure from Russia, noted Polish media unanimously, and Poland would once again land itself in crevices and be lent in an awkward position.
Nevertheless, the NATO Secretary General said that the US decision has taken an active, positive step.
Meanwhile, Konstantin Kosachyov, who heads the Foreign affairs Committee of the Russian State Duma, said: "We wanted for the event very long – perhaps even too long."
The Russian Foreign Ministry maintained that the development of the event conforms to the interests of both Russia and the United Sates. RIA Novosti of Russia reported that all reiterated that threats from Iran do "fundamentally not exist, neither today, or in the foreseeable future."
Furthermore, apart from a military factor being the main cause of abrogation of the missile defense shield, some ace Russian experts deemed that the US government would have to cut back its defense budget against the background of ongoing gobal financial crisis."
By People's Daily Online and contributed Wen Xian, Jinchao, Zhang Niansheng and other PD reporters position.
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