Obama to Scrap Bush-Era European Missile Shield Plan

It's comforting to know that the administration that cancelled the next generation of fighter planes has cancelled the next generation of missile defense. Maybe ACORN will defend the world... once they've been paid enough.

From the Washington Post:

Obama to Scrap Bush-Era European Missile Shield Plan

New Defense System Will Focus on Stopping Shorter-Range Missiles

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Obama Statement on European Missile Defense

President Barack Obama issues a statement Thursday updating the United States' missile defense strategies.

By Michael D. Shear, Ann Scott Tyson and Debbi Wilgoren

Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, September 17, 2009; 4:18 PM

President Obama said Thursday that he is abandoning Bush-era plans for a long-range missile defense system based in Poland and the Czech Republic, turning instead to a land- and sea-based system of sensors and interceptors that is focused on stopping shorter-range missiles that could be fired from Iran.

The president said he was accepting the recommendation of Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in turning away from a plan to place interceptor missiles in Poland and a radar system in the Czech Republic. Instead, a distributed sensor system, apparently envisioned as a more advanced version of the Navy's Aegis theater missile defense system, would "deploy techniques that are proven and cost-effective and will counter the current threat more effectively and do so sooner" than a longer-range system would, Obama said.

The system embraced by former president George W. Bush had been strongly opposed by Russia, which viewed the prospect of a missile shield system on its western border as an affront. Although Obama made a point of saying his decision was based on security interests rather than diplomatic considerations, it could allay what Obama and Gates called "unfounded" concerns in Moscow about the previous plan and contribute to a breakthrough in U.S.-Russian relations. Scrapping the Bush missile shield also could remove an impediment to negotiations on finding a replacement for the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or START, which expires in early December.

"This new approach will provide capability sooner, build on proven systems and offer greater defenses against the threat of missile attack than the 2007 European missile defense program," Obama said at the White House. He said the system he is embracing will offer "stronger, smarter and swifter defenses of American forces and America's allies."

Obama said he called the prime ministers of Poland and the Czech Republic overnight to alert them to his decision.

Obama's statement from the White House, hastily arranged after news of the decision leaked out overnight, was followed by a news conference at the Pentagon by Gates and Gen. James Cartwright, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Gates, who as Bush's defense secretary had recommended and publicly embraced the longer-range system, said the option chosen by Obama could be implemented several years earlier and would be more effective, especially since the threat of long-range missiles from Iran is no longer believed to be as imminent.

"It is more adapted to the threat we see developing, and takes advantage of" the latest technology available to the United States, Gates said.

The decision sparked immediate condemnation from Republicans in Congress, who accused the administration of abandoning America's allies and putting the country's security at risk. House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) said in a statement that the move "does little more than empower Russia and Iran at the expense of our allies in Europe. It shows a willful determination to continue ignoring the threat posed by some of the most dangerous regimes in the world."

That concern was echoed by Obama's chief rival during the 2008 campaign, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who called the move away from a missile system designed to counter long-range weapons "seriously misguided."

"Given the serious and growing threats posed by Iran's missile and nuclear programs, now is the time when we should look to strengthen our defenses, and those of our allies," McCain said in a statement. "Missile defense in Europe has been a key component of this approach."

In his briefing, Gates anticipated those criticisms, and fired back strongly. "Those who say we are scrapping missile defense in Europe are either misinformed or misrepresenting the reality of what we are doing," Gates said. "The security of Europe has been a vital national interest of the United States for my entire career. The circumstances, borders and threats may have changed, but that commitment continues."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who was a strong critic of the Bush shield, called Obama's decision "brilliant" and hailed it as "a giant step forward."

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