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6 March 2007 |
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http://www.ft.com/cms/s/... |
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See also: other related news items. Russia would have legitimate cause for concern if the Pentagon placed missile interceptors in Britain as part of its missile defence shield, the head of the US Missile Defence Agency has told the FT. The Pentagon is negotiating with Poland over the possibility of installing 10 missile interceptors as part of its ground-based missile defence system. But UK officials recently said Tony Blair, the British prime minister, had lobbied the US to have his country host the interceptors. "If they [the Russians] are concerned about us targeting their intercontinental ballistic missiles, I think that would be problematic from the UK because I believe we probably could catch them from a UK launch site," said Lieutenant General Trey Obering. Gen Obering said the missile defence system in Europe was aimed at protecting the US and Europe from Iranian missiles. He said the fact that the Pentagon wanted to place the interceptors in Poland reinforced the argument that the US was not trying to build a shield against Russian missiles. "We would not have chosen Poland or the Czech Republic if our criteria were to try to somehow offset the Russian ICBM advantage," Gen Obering said. "We would have moved it farther west so that we could again give us more time to do that tracking and targeting." Moscow has raised alarms about the plans to place interceptors in Poland and a radar in the Czech Republic. Two senior Russian generals have suggested that Russia could target any missile defence facilities in the former Soviet bloc countries. The Polish government has responded positively to the US request to begin negotiating towards hosting the interceptors. Recent reports that Britain is also interested in hosting the base have been widely discounted in Warsaw, where they are seen as a negotiating tactic by Washington to encourage the Poles to approve the base. Gen Obering himself admits that the UK would not be the "optimum" location for interceptors if the idea is to defend against Iranian missiles. Riki Ellison, the president of the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance, says the fact that the UK would not be a "feasible" location suggests London was helping Washington put pressure on the Polish government. While the Polish government favours the base, a recent survey found that only 28 per cent of the public supports the base, while 55 per cent are opposed. The country´s political elite feels that a US base, complete with American soldiers, would provide more security to Poland than its current Nato membership. Asked about the recent successful Chinese test of an anti-satellite missile, Gen Obering said Beijing did not have the capability at present to threaten the US missile defence system, which relies heavily on satellites, but he said that could change in the future. Gen Obering added that the US was developing programmes that could be used to tackle the growing Chinese threat. But he declined to provide details, saying: "Most of that stuff is classified". |
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