MPs Criticise U.S. Missile Shield Plan
The Epoch Times – New York
Jun 14, 2009
LONDON—A planned U.S. missile shield may not strengthen Europe’s security and could hurt NATO’s interests if deployed in the face of Russian opposition, members of parliament said on Sunday.
The United States says the anti-missile system is designed to prevent potential attacks from countries such as Iran, but the plan has outraged Moscow which sees it as a threat.
Russia has urged Washington to drop its plan to put 10 interceptor missiles in Poland and a radar station in the Czech Republic. Both former Soviet satellites are now NATO members.
Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, made up of legislators from the main political parties, voiced reservations about the U.S. plan in a report on weapons proliferation.
“We are not convinced that, as they are currently envisaged and under current circumstances, the United States’ planned ballistic missile defence (BMD) deployments in the Czech Republic and Poland represent a net gain for European security,” it said.
“We conclude that if the deployments are carried out in the face of opposition from Russia, this could be highly detrimental to NATO’s overall security interests,” the report said.
