| WASHINGTON
- October 22 - At his press conference Sunday with President Vladimir Putin of Russia, President George W.
Bush expressed once again his determination to withdraw unilaterally from the Anti-Ballistic Missile
Treaty if he cannot get his way with Russia.
Bush spoke against the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty: "The events of September the 11th make it
clearer than ever that a Cold War ABM treaty that prevents us from defending our people is outdated,
and I believe dangerous."
"There is a new Bush view on world cooperation on some issues. But on missile defense, nothing
has really changed," said John D. Isaacs, president of the Council for a Livable World. "The President is still carrying forward his ideological war against the ABM Treaty and still believes that missile defense
will protect us from terrorist attacks. On both counts, I believe he is wrong."
Isaacs said he was encouraged that the United States and Russia are moving toward reductions in
their nuclear arsenals. "The only good thing that may come out of all this is deep cuts in U.S. and
Russian weapons. But the price will be high if it means Bush has free rein to build a missile defense
shield that thus far does not work."
Bush's contention that the ABM Treaty is preventing progress on missile defense has been
disputed by many scientific and military experts. "The great myth the Bush Administration has nurtured
is that the ABM Treaty is the obstacle to developing a missile defense system," said Chris Madison, who
directs the missile defense project for the Council for a Livable World Education Fund. "The obstacles to
missile defense are scientific and technical, and they may never be overcome. The ABM Treaty issue is
strictly a sideshow."
In July, Philip Coyle, former director of testing and evaluation for the Pentagon, testified before the
Senate Armed Services Committee: "The United States faces a very complex and difficult set of
expensive NMD development problems -- problems that abrogating the ABM Treaty will not overcome. Rather than focusing on the red herring of the ABM treaty, the NMD program would do better
to concentrate on crafting long-term, affordable approaches to technology development."
Coyle added that missile defense testing could proceed for several more years before "bumping
up" against the constraints of the ABM Treaty.
"The Bush administration should not abandon the ABM Treaty," said Isaacs. "Any changes should
be mutually agreed upon with Russia."
###
|
