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Summary:
Successive U.S. administrations have urged the creation of an anti-missile system to protect against threats from rogue states. The Bush Administration believes that North Korea and Iran are strategic threats and questions whether they can be deterred by conventional means. The Administration has built long-range missile defense bases in Alaska and California to protect against North Korean missiles. The system has been tested, with mixed results, and questions have been raised about its effectiveness. The Administration has proposed deploying a ground-based mid-course defense (GMD) element of the larger Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS) in Europe to defend against an Iranian missile threat. The system would include 10 interceptors in Poland, and radar in the Czech Republic. Deployment of the European GMD capability is scheduled to be completed by 2013 at a cost of $4.04 billion. The proposed U.S. system has encountered resistance in some European countries and beyond. Critics in Poland and the Czech Republic assert that neither country currently faces a notable threat from Iran, but that if American GMD facilities were installed, both countries might be targeted by missiles from rogue states -- and possibly from Russia. Some Europeans claim that GMD is another manifestation of American unilateralism, and assert that the Bush Administration did not consult sufficiently with NATO allies or with Russia, which the Administration argues was not the case. Other European leaders, however, support the missile defense project. NATO has also been deliberating long-range missile defense, and has recently taken actions that have been interpreted as an endorsement of the American GMD system. The GMD plan has also affected U.S.-Russia relations. President Putin has argued that the proposal would reignite the arms race and upset U.S.-RussianEuropean security relations. U.S. officials dispute Russian objections, noting that Moscow has known of this plan for years and that the interceptors are intended to take out Iranian missiles aimed at Europe or the United States and could not possibly act as a deterrent against Russia. Some argue that Russia has been attempting to foment discord among NATO allies. In June and July 2007, however, Putin offered to cooperate on missile defense, offering the use of a Russian leased radar in Azerbaijan and suggesting that the program be expanded to include other countries, but urging that U.S. missile defense facilities not be built in Poland and the Czech Republic. President Bush welcomed the apparent policy shift in principle, but insisted upon the need for the Eastern European sites. Whatever the final outcome, some observers believe that the recent exchanges between Bush and Putin have served to reduce tensions. Russian cooperation in missile defense could remove an impediment to the program and dampen criticism by European leaders. Congress has examined the proposed European GMD proposal. Both the House and Senate Armed Services Committees made recommendations that would significantly slow down the effort. This report will be updated periodically.
