ABM Treaty: No Progress Yet at Summit

U.S. and Russian Presidents George W. Bush and Vladimir Putin have made little progress on the issues of the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty and missile defense during their summit meeting, according to reports yesterday.  The two leaders planned to continue the summit today at Bush’s ranch in Crawford, Texas. 

“We have different points of view on the ABM Treaty,” Bush said in a news conference with Putin yesterday.

“On the issues of missile defense, the position of Russia remains unchanged, and we agree to continue dialogue and consultations on this,” Putin said (Associated Press/New York Times, Nov. 13).  

Bush may have an opportunity to haggle with Russia when he goes to Moscow in January, according to the Associated Press.  “Let’s look together at what tests you need,” Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said.  “If such tests don’t violate the treaty, why discard it?  We don’t think the ABM Treaty is outdated” (Barry Schweid, Associated Press/Washington Post, Nov. 14).

Back to top

ABM Treaty: Senators Urge Withdrawal

Nine U.S. senators wrote to U.S. President George W. Bush on Friday asking him to withdraw from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.  The senators expressed concern that Bush might reach a mutual agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin to conduct missile defense tests that would otherwise violate the treaty.

The Republican senators—Trent Lott (Miss.), Jesse Helms (N.C.), Jon Kyl (Ariz.), Don Nickles (Okla.), Bob Smith (N.H.), Larry Craig (Idaho), Jim Inhofe (Okla.), Richard Shelby (Ala.) and Rick Santorum (Pa.)—cautioned that false or misleading media reports about the president’s intentions regarding the treaty “could create serious misunderstandings and even, perhaps, miscalculations” among “friends and foes abroad.”

“We are concerned that recent news stories distort your position by reporting that your administration intends to reach an agreement with Russia that would permit full testing of our missile defense program while leaving the ABM Treaty intact,” the senators wrote (italics in original).

The senators urged Bush to withdraw from the treaty, writing that they have worked hard for many years to promote missile defense programs. They affirmed, however, that “the United States cannot deploy missile defenses unless and until it fully extricates itself from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. The treaty does not permit violations by mutual consent; and we all know the United States cannot test what we need to without arguably violating its terms” (italics in orginal) (Senate Foreign Relations Committee Republican release, Nov. 13).

Back to top

ABM Treaty: Nobel Laureates Urge Preserving Pact

By David Ruppe

Global Security Newswire

A group of 50 Nobel Prize-winning scientists and economists Monday urged U.S. lawmakers to deny funding for missile defense projects that are inconsistent with the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. U.S. and Russian Presidents George W. Bush and Vladimir Putin began meeting to discuss the treaty today in Washington and will continue Wednesday and Thursday at Bush’s ranch in Crawford, Texas (see related GSN story, today).

In a letter to senior congressional leaders, the scientists argued the international repercussions of breaking the treaty could not be justified in light of the system’s projected high price, technical challenges and alleged unsuitability for dealing with probable threats currently facing the U.S. mainland (click here to read letter).

"The tragic events of Sept. 11 eliminated any doubt that America faces security needs far more substantial than a technically improbable defense against a strategically improbable Third World ballistic missile attack," the letter said.

Abrogating the treaty, the laureates wrote, would “undermine nonproliferation” and “cooperation with Russia and China on reducing nuclear dangers.”

But their arguments may be moot, with Bush reportedly poised to announce an agreement with Putin to allow development and testing that currently might violate the treaty. The agreement reportedly also would involve further cuts to both countries’ nuclear arsenals—including Russia’s 6,000 strategic weapons—and other arms control measures.

Senior congressional Democrats, traditionally skeptical of the missile defense system, recently advocated such a solution.

“Presidents Bush and Putin would then have a genuine opportunity … to make real progress towards a new security arrangement that permits both missile defense testing and significant nuclear arms reductions, and that would have strong bipartisan support in Congress,” Senator Carl Levin (D-Mich.) told the Senate last Monday.

Levin in September introduced legislation restricting certain types of missile defense testing as part of an agreement to drop the controversial restrictions from the 2002 Defense Authorization Act.

Bush administration officials in recent months have backed away from suggestions they would unilaterally terminate the treaty if Russia would not agree to amend it. Democrats have criticized the administration for underfunding the Nunn-Lugar program, which finances the destruction of Russian nuclear warheads.

The ABM Treaty was created to strictly limit the development and deployment of national missile defense systems, in order to discourage a nuclear arms race.

One of the laureates, physicist Steven Weinberg of the University of Austin, at a press conference in Washington Monday, argued that even with Russia’s cooperation, continuing the national missile defense program would harm arms control efforts by encouraging China to expand its number of ICBMs and discouraging Russia from making larger cuts to its nuclear arsenal.

“They will be talking about numbers in the thousands, but we need to get the numbers down into the hundreds,” he said.

Back to top

U.S.-Russia: Bush and Putin Begin Talks

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Washington last night to begin a visit with U.S. President George W. Bush that will conclude Thursday.  Hours before arriving in the United States, Putin predicted the two leaders would likely reach a deal that would allow the United States to begin tests required to developing an anti-ballistic missile defense system (David Sanger, New York Times, Nov. 13).

The leaders are expected to discuss a deal including modifications to the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty and nuclear weapons reductions (see GSN, Nov. 12). 

“We’ll talk about offensive weapons, and the desire of both our nations to reduce our offensive weapons.  I have a number that I’ll share with him, and it is going to be substantially lower than today’s weaponry.  And I presume he’ll have a number that he’ll share with me,” Bush said yesterday.

Bush said he intended to reduce the U.S. nuclear stockpile whether or not Putin agreed to similar reductions, saying, “It is the right thing for America to do.”

Bush indicated he would seek an agreement on cuts without “endless hours of arms control discussions,” rather than a formal arms control treaty (see GSN, Nov. 8) (Reuters/South China Morning Post, Nov. 13).

“In many ways, [Putin and Bush] have much more important things to talk about now than to squabble over the ABM Treaty—and that’s why this deal is going to happen.  Bush and Putin both win politically.  Diplomatically, the coalition against terrorism strengthens, and strategically there are real planned reductions in nuclear dangers,” said Joseph Cirincione of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Some officials cautioned against high expectations, however.  “I wouldn’t expect any particular arrangements to come out of any particular meeting,” said U.S. National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice (Milbank/DeYoung, Washington Post, Nov. 13).

Back to top

India-Russia: Two Countries Discuss Missile Defense

Russia is considering helping India build a limited missile defense system, according to India’s Asian Age. In meetings last week, Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the “possibility of enhanced nuclear cooperation,” and Putin was “not averse to offering a missile shield of a limited kind,” Asian Age reported (Seema Mustafa, New Delhi Asian Age, Nov. 8; in FBIS-NES, Nov. 9).

India’s Statesman reported Russia was helping India build an air-defense shield using the Rajendra radar and Aakash long-range anti-aircraft missile systems under Indian development.  Russia offered the S-300V anti-aircraft and anti-missile theater defense system five years ago and has continued to offer the S-300 PMU-1 system, which Russia claimed could intercept low-level cruise missiles, aircraft-launched missiles, and surface-launched short and medium range missiles, according to the Statesman.  India is also negotiating with Israel to acquire the Arrow missile defense system (Statesman, Nov. 12).

India and Russia have started cooperative efforts to construct a nuclear power plant in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu (see GSN, Nov. 8).  Russia has also offered four Tu-22 Backfire bombers capable of carrying nuclear material to the Indian Navy (see GSN, Oct. 17).

The defense deals that the two nations are considering could cost over $7 billion, Asian Age reported.  India has the third largest army in the world and buys 70 percent of its military equipment from Russia (Mustafa, New Delhi Asian Age, Nov. 8; in FBIS-NES, Nov. 9).

Back to top

About Newswire  |  Contact National Journal  |  Re-Use Guidelines

HOME  |  CONTACT US  |  GET INVOLVED  |  SITE MAP