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US Could Decide On Missile Shield Soon
State Department says US decision on NMD a "few weeks" away WASHINGTON, Aug 22 (AFP) - The US State Department said Tuesday a decision on a controversial national missile shield was still a "few weeks" away, extending a possible seven-day time-frame for the move described earlier by a senior American official. Spokesman Richard Boucher said he had not seen the comments made Monday by US Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs, John Holum, but reiterated that President Bill Clinton intended to decide on the system in the fall. "The president has said he expects to make the decision in the next few weeks," Boucher said, adding that Clinton would first receive recommendations from the Pentagon and other sources. "The president will also receive advice of his key advisers and make a decision at an appropriate time (but) as with other presidential decisions, I can't predict exactly when that would happen." On Monday, Holum, in Greenland for talks with Danish officials who administer the island's defense and foreign policy, suggested that Clinton might make a decision on national missile defense (NMD) within a week. Holum told Danish DR1 television that discussions on the missile shield were ongoing but that understanding on the system from Greenland was also vital. "A decision concerning NMD can be taken within a week or so ..." he said. A US radar base at Thule, northwest Greenland, set up in 1951, would provide a key link in the NMD plan should it be deployed, but would require substantial modernisation and development. NMD is vehemently opposed by Russia, which says it would violate the terms of the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) treaty and, along with China, sees it as a direct threat to their nuclear deterrent capabilities.
European allies of the United States have also expressed deep concerns about the system which they fear could spark another nuclear arms race.
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John Holum, Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs, told Danish DR1 television that discussions on the missile shield were ongoing but that understanding on the system from Greenland was also vital. "A decision concerning NMD can be taken within a week or so ..." Holum said.
In Washington, White House spokesman PJ Crowley said that President Bill Clinton "awaits a report from the secretary of defence, and that has not occurred yet," referring to a recommendation on the project expected from Defence Secretary William Cohen.
"The secretary has indicated that he will take his time," Crowley said. Another senior US State Department official set September 21 as a possible date for a decision.
A US radar base at Thule, northwest Greenland, was set up in 1951. It would provide a key link in the NMD plan, but would require substantial modernisation and development.
Denmark handles foreign policy and defence matters for Greenland.
Holum is heading a US foreign affairs and defence delegation which arrived here Monday to brief local officials on plans to upgrade the airbase in line with the proposed NMD.
"We are not asking Greenland to make a decision at this stage. We are engaged as you know in discussions with the Russians... all we are looking for is their understanding," Holum said on television.
"Once a decision is made, we would engage actively with the Danish government and certainly we will continue to explain our position to Greenland," he added.
The US team accompanied by their Danish counterparts, was received early Tuesday by Greenland's Prime Minister Jonathan Motzfeldt and other officials.
On Sunday, the prime minister had told a press conference that Greenland had informed Copenhagen and Washington that "his government would not accept a modernisation of the Thule air base if it resulted in increased tension and world destabilisation."
"We will welcome the Americans, but we will also express our fears that such plans risk destabilising our Arctic region, but equally the world where we live," Motzfeldt added.
The US delegation will leave Nuuk early Wednesday for a 24-hour stop in Thule before flying on to Copenhagen the following day.
Many Greenland officials oppose the US missile scheme as violating the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty. Washington hopes to be able to amend the treaty if it decides to go ahead with the nuclear missile shield.
China and Russia are both firm opponents of the scheme, which they warn could reignite the arms race and increase instability in the arctic region and throughout the world.
The Danish government, responsible as it is for Greenland's foreign affairs, security and defence, has not yet taken a position on the NMD project, awaiting concrete initiatives from the US side on the Thule base.
The 1951 agreement on Thule allows the United States to modernise its military base there without agreement from Denmark or Greenland, Danish television reported.
Copyright 2000 AFP. All rights reserved. The material on this page is provided by AFP and may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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