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Rumsfeld Cites Chinese Missile Build-Up As He Justifies Shield
Washington (AFP) May 1, 2001 Defense Secretary Donald on Tuesday cited China's build-up of missiles, as he justified the US administration's announced intention to deploy a shield to defend against ballistic missile attacks. "The truth is that the Chinese have been building more, they are building more, they are going to build more -- quite apart from any ABM treaty," Rumsfeld told CNN late Tuesday. "They (the Chinese) are not a party to the ABM treaty," in response to a question relating to China's build-up of intercontinental ballistic missiles. Earlier Tuesday, US President George W. Bush signaled the start of an all-out missile defense race free from the constraints of the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty with Moscow barring defenses such as the proposed anti-ballistic missile shield. Bush also said he would replace the ABM treaty, formulated during the Cold War, and said he intends to work on a new security framework with Russia and US allies, who oppose his shield proposals. Deployment of an anti-ballistic shield would defend the United States against missile attacks by so-called "rogue states" like Iraq and North Korea. "The idea that we should remain vulnerable to a Saddam Hussein or to Iran or to North Korea or to some other country that might get their hands on these capabilities ... is so patently unwise and dangerous that the real questions have to be what are the risks if we don't deploy ballistic missile defense," Rumsfeld added in the interview. The defense minister also, underlined in an interview with Fox television channel, in addition, the "constraining" nature of the ABM treaty, and said the United States needed to be able to defend against "small numbers, limited numbers of very, very powerful weapons." Before Bush's speech earlier, Rumsfeld had indicated that the administration was prepared to move swiftly, deploying even unperfected systems to deter potential adversaries -- a strategy critics call a "scarecrow defense." "What we're talking about here is a new set of capabilities, to be sure, to dissuade or deter, as you put it, as well as to defend against a growing threat in the world," Rumsfeld told reporters. "They need not be 100-percent perfect in my opinion and they are certainly unlikely to be in their early stages of evolution," he said. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links SpaceDaily Search SpaceDaily Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express Military Space News at SpaceWar.com
Canada To Seek International Pact Banning Weapons In Space
Ottawa (AFP) Jan 11, 2006Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin will seek an international pact to ban weapons in space if his Liberals are returned to power in a January 23 election, according to the party platform. |
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