31 December 2002
Judge rebuffs ABM Treaty case
From correspondents in Washington

"...The court concludes that the treaty termination issue is a nonjusticiable 'political question' that cannot be resolved by courts," US District Judge John Bates wrote yesterday in his opinion. "Accordingly, this action will be dismissed."

The suit was brought last June by 32 members of the House of Representatives led by liberal Ohio Democrat Dennis Kucinich, who asserted that President George W Bush's decision to withdraw from the ABM Treaty to pursue a vigorous missile defence program was unconstitutional.

The lawmakers argued that since international treaties were usually ratified by the Senate and considered law of the land, the president had no power to repeal the accord without congressional approval. The treaty, signed by the United States and the Soviet Union in 1972, prohibited nationwide missile defence systems.

The Bush administration gave Moscow the required six-month's notice in December 2001, informing it of its decision to abandon the treaty. The withdrawal formally took effect last June. Free of ABM constraints, Bush announced two weeks ago his decision to start as early as 2004 deploying a limited missile shield to protect the United States against attack by terrorists or "rogue" nations like North Korea, Iran and Iraq.

The plan calls for deploying 16 ground-based interceptor missiles at Fort Greeley, Alaska, and four interceptors at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California by the end of 2005.

In addition, up to 20 sea-based weapons capable of intercepting missiles in the boost phase of their flight will be placed aboard ships equipped with Aegis battle management systems, according to the Pentagon. All these projects would have been illegal, had the ABM Treaty remained in effect, according to arms control experts.