Nato chief warns of split over US missiles
Nato chief warns of split over US missiles
By Daniel Dombey in Brussels
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007
Published: March 11 2007 22:19 | Last updated: March 11 2007 22:19
Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, Nato secretary general, has warned that the alliance risks being split between countries that would be covered by the US’s proposed missile defence programme and other member states left exposed to missile threats from Iran.
Nato officials say the US programme would protect almost all of Europe, but not the southeast, which would need an extra, shorter range system because of the closeness to Iran.
“When it comes to missile defence, there shouldn’t be an A-league and a B-league within Nato,” Mr de Hoop Scheffer said in an interview with the Financial Times. “For me it is indivisibility of security that is the guiding principle.”
The Nato chief’s comments open a new front in the debate about the US’s plans for missile defence, which has been dominated by Russia’s objections to the Bush administration’s request to install bases in Poland and the Czech Republic.
Several western European countries have expressed reservations, given that the scheme may antagonise Moscow. Last week, Jacques Chirac, French president, declared that the US initiative risked returning Europe to the tensions of the Cold War.
But Nato officials argue that Washington will proceed with its plans and that although the system is designed to protect the US, many western and central European countries would benefit.
The officials say it would be both feasible and affordable to extend the protection to countries otherwise exposed – such as Turkey, Greece and Italy – by the beginning of the next decade.
Mr de Hoop Scheffer suggested that the US programme could be complemented by existing Nato plans to put a battlefield missile defence system into operation by 2010. “We are already moving forward with developing systems to protect deployed forces, rather than population centres and territories,” he said. “There could be at a later stage a relationship between the two systems.”
Many western European leaders have been sceptical of the cost-effectiveness of the US system. It is designed to shoot down a small number of missiles and would be overwhelmed by a large scale strike. The system, which costs more than $10bn a year, has had an uneven test record.
A 10,000-page study by Nato last year concluded that it would be feasible to establish a Europe-wide missile defence system based on the US plan. The study put the cost at less than $10bn without taking into account the Polish and Czech bases.
Nato officials say the bases will cut costs further, since the Polish interceptors and Czech radar will cover almost all of Europe. Southeastern Europe could be protected by Patriot missiles and Aegis ship-born radar.
By Daniel Dombey in Brussels
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007
Published: March 11 2007 22:19 | Last updated: March 11 2007 22:19
Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, Nato secretary general, has warned that the alliance risks being split between countries that would be covered by the US’s proposed missile defence programme and other member states left exposed to missile threats from Iran.
Nato officials say the US programme would protect almost all of Europe, but not the southeast, which would need an extra, shorter range system because of the closeness to Iran.
“When it comes to missile defence, there shouldn’t be an A-league and a B-league within Nato,” Mr de Hoop Scheffer said in an interview with the Financial Times. “For me it is indivisibility of security that is the guiding principle.”
The Nato chief’s comments open a new front in the debate about the US’s plans for missile defence, which has been dominated by Russia’s objections to the Bush administration’s request to install bases in Poland and the Czech Republic.
Several western European countries have expressed reservations, given that the scheme may antagonise Moscow. Last week, Jacques Chirac, French president, declared that the US initiative risked returning Europe to the tensions of the Cold War.
But Nato officials argue that Washington will proceed with its plans and that although the system is designed to protect the US, many western and central European countries would benefit.
The officials say it would be both feasible and affordable to extend the protection to countries otherwise exposed – such as Turkey, Greece and Italy – by the beginning of the next decade.
Mr de Hoop Scheffer suggested that the US programme could be complemented by existing Nato plans to put a battlefield missile defence system into operation by 2010. “We are already moving forward with developing systems to protect deployed forces, rather than population centres and territories,” he said. “There could be at a later stage a relationship between the two systems.”
Many western European leaders have been sceptical of the cost-effectiveness of the US system. It is designed to shoot down a small number of missiles and would be overwhelmed by a large scale strike. The system, which costs more than $10bn a year, has had an uneven test record.
A 10,000-page study by Nato last year concluded that it would be feasible to establish a Europe-wide missile defence system based on the US plan. The study put the cost at less than $10bn without taking into account the Polish and Czech bases.
Nato officials say the bases will cut costs further, since the Polish interceptors and Czech radar will cover almost all of Europe. Southeastern Europe could be protected by Patriot missiles and Aegis ship-born radar.
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