Newsgroup: it.politica.pds
Titolo: NATO allies split on missile shield add-on

NATO allies split on missile shield add-on
Mark John
Reuters North American News Service
Mar 12, 2008 10:52 EST
BRUSSELS, March 12 (Reuters) - NATO will delay a decision on whether to
commission a missile shield to protect those parts of Europe not covered
by a planned U.S. system because of internal disagreements, an alliance
official said on Wednesday.
NATO allies Greece, Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey will not be fully covered
by a proposed U.S. shield in east Europe to counter missile threats from
what Washington calls "rogue states" such as Iran and North Korea.
The United States had originally sought a decision by an alliance summit
in Bucharest next month on whether to go ahead with a NATO "bolt-on"
shield to cover those countries, but a number of allies remain sceptical
about the plan.
"I don't think we are going to see a decision there. I don't see any
nation pushing for a decision on an actual procurement programme," NATO
Assistant Secretary-General for Defence Investment Division Peter Flory
told a news briefing.
"The questions tend to be: How much would this cost? How effective would
it be? Where would it fit in with a broader concept of how you would deal
with weapons of mass destruction?"
While stressing that Russia -- which bitterly opposes the U.S. plan -- had
no say in the final decision on a NATO shield, Flory said: "It is clearly
an element in our discussion".
NATO has long been mulling the possibility of developing a missile shield
to protect the entire territory of the 26-nation alliance, but the debate
has been overtaken by the U.S. plan to base part of its own system in
Poland and the Czech Republic.
Consensus within NATO has been made all the harder because the United
States has still not been able to clinch deals with Warsaw and Prague on
putting parts of its shield on their soil. Polish officials say agreement
could be months off.
While allies broadly agree on the nature of the threat and the feasibility
in principle of missile defence, many are reluctant to go ahead with a
project whose costs still have to be worked out.
Some NATO members in northern Europe do not see why they should pay for a
system that would be focused on protecting the southern part of the
alliance, while France puts its faith primarily in its nuclear deterrent
to counter any threat.
Flory said he expected NATO allies in Bucharest -- where Russia's outgoing
President Vladimir Putin is invited as a guest -- to agree a statement
acknowledging that missile defence can play a role in anti-proliferation
policy.
But Flory acknowledged there was no agreement within NATO on how much a
"bolt-on" system -- which would likely involve radars and interceptors on
a smaller scale than the U.S. shield -- would cost.
Some industry estimates put the cost at as low as one billion euros split
between the NATO members over 20 years, but a number of allies suspect the
actual cost would be much greater. (Editing by Stephen Weeks) 
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