NATO Chief Warns of Additional Nuclear-Armed Nations

Additional nations might follow the path of Iran and North Korea and pursue nuclear weapons, NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said yesterday in arguing for ballistic missile defenses (see GSN, April 3).

“The nuclear ambitions of Iran and North Korea threaten to set in motion a domino effect that will be difficult to contain,” de Hoop Scheffer said during a missile defense conference in Prague, the Associated Press reported.

“If there is a serious suspicion that in Syria there was a facility in the making, it only increases the arguments … for finding a collective answer to a ballistic missile defense threat,” he added.

Iran has denied Western claims that its nuclear program is being developed for military purposes (see GSN, May 5), while Syria has rejected reports that a facility destroyed by Israel in September was an unfinished nuclear reactor (see GSN, April 30).

The Bush administration is developing a ballistic missile defense system intended to counter threats from nations such as Iran and North Korea.  It hopes to deploy components in Poland and the Czech Republic (see GSN, May 2).  NATO is also considering developing a theater missile shield that could augment the U.S. infrastructure in Europe.

“The number of states that possess the ballistic missiles is already growing.  Slowly and surely,” de Hoop Scheffer said.  “The proliferation of ballistic missiles is a reality that concerns us all.”

NATO is “ready to explore a potential linking of United States, NATO and Russian missile defense systems,” he said.  “Sooner or later, Moscow will realize that Russia, too, is not immune to the consequences of proliferation.  Once it happens, and I hope it won’t take long, Russia will consider NATO’s offer.”

The anticipated signing next month of a deal for the Czech Republic to house a U.S. early warning radar “will be a major step forward … in the process of building a missile defense architecture in Europe … (and) also a major development for NATO,” according to de Hoop Scheffer (Karel Janicek, Associated Press, May 6).

De Hoop Scheffer warned that Europe could not rely solely on the United States for protection against ballistic missiles, Agence France-Presse reported.

“The development of a so-called third site in Europe will be an important contribution to the protection of the allies, but it will not protect all of them,” he said.  “We need U.S. sensors, but we also need other sensors and we need to link them.”

The U.S. shield, which would also involve 10 missile interceptors deployed in Poland, would not cover Bulgaria, Greece, Romania and Turkey (Agence France-Presse/Spacewar.com, May 5).

U.S. Undersecretary of State John Rood said yesterday in Prague that he expected lawmakers in Poland and the Czech Republic to approve the missile defense agreements, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

Polish leaders have appeared less enthusiastic about a deal than their Czech counterparts, but the Bush administration has been working to meet Warsaw’s demands for hosting the missile interceptors (see GSN, May 5).  Both countries’ parliaments would ultimately have to sign off on any agreements (Xinhua News Agency, May 5).

Back to top
About Newswire  |  Contact National Journal  |  Re-Use Guidelines © Copyright 2008 by National Journal Group, Inc. The material in this section is produced independently for NTI by National Journal Group, Inc. Any reproduction or retransmission, in whole or in part, is a violation of federal law and is strictly prohibited without the consent of the National Journal Group, Inc. All rights reserved.