Attempts To Downplay Mixed Signals From Obama
Administration
If Iranian missile programs would cease production, the United
States would not need more missile defense capabilities in Eastern
Europe, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said during a press
conference in Washington on Tuesday.
"I told the Russians a year ago that if there were no Iranian
missile threat, that there would be no need for the third site in
Europe," Gates said in response to a reporter's query about a
letter President Barack Obama sent last month to Russian President
Dmitri Medvedev.
As ANN reported, staffers in the Obama
administration said that letter aimed to strike a more conciliatory
tone with Russia over the contentious issue of missile defense... a
message Obama later moved away from.
"I don't think at all that this is trying to put the Russians on
the spot," Gates continued. "I think it is trying to reopen a
dialogue and say, 'we are open to talking with you about how we
address this problem and how we can move forward.'"
Gates said he suggested using a previously discussed alternative
of incorporating a full US-Russian partnership in missile defense,
citing a commitment to European missile defense. Iranian missiles
are a potential threat to Russia, he added.
"The reality is that the missiles that the Iranians are testing
can reach a good part of Russia, as well as Eastern Europe and part
of Western Europe," he said. "These missiles cannot reach the
United States at this point. This is part of our commitment to a
European missile defense."
At a NATO defense leader meeting in Krakow, Poland, last month,
NATO agreed to a ballistic missile defense that would protect
against a launch from Iran. The Czech Republic will house a radar
for the system, with the actual missiles based in Poland.
Gates said the Polish and Czech Republic Defense Ministries want
NATO to push forward "quickly and strongly" with the program, which
has been discussed since October 2007 under the Bush
administration.
However, Gates said the missile defense issue is among several
other critical matters on Obama's plate and will be managed as
quickly as possible.
At a press conference earlier in the day with Great Britain's
Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Obama said he had sent a lengthy
letter to the Russian president discussing a whole range of issues
from nuclear proliferation to terrorism.
Obama (right) said the dialogue with Russia does not diminish
his commitment "to making sure that Poland, the Czech Republic and
other NATO members are fully enjoying the partnership, the alliance
and U.S. support with respect to their security."
The president characterized the letter as a "quid pro quo"
statement.
"It was simply a statement of fact that I've made previously,
which is that the missile defense program, to the extent that it is
deployed, is designed to deal with not a Russian threat, but an
Iranian threat," he said.
Obama said he's had "good exchanges" with Russia on the matter
so far. He said Russia needs to understand the U.S. commitment to
the independence and security of countries like Poland and the
Czech Republic, while recognizing other mutual concerns, such as
nuclear nonproliferation and terrorism.
"My hope is, is that we can have a constructive relationship
where, based on common respect and mutual interest, we can move
forward," he said.
(Aero-News thanks Army Staff Sgt. Michael J. Carden,
American Forces Press Service)
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