Bush plans Son of Star Wars plus nuclear cuts

US President George W Bush intends to make deep reductions in nuclear weapons, perhaps without negotiating reciprocal cuts by Russia, officials said today.

The administration sees these reductions as one element of a new national security strategy that includes a global missile defence system dubbed Son of Star Wars.

Bush was spelling out his vision for security in a speech tonight at the National Defence University the same venue that then-President Clinton used exactly eight months ago to announce that he believed the technologies needed for a shield against ballistic missiles were not mature enough to commit to building one.

Bush has said he wants to not only accelerate work on missile defences but also broaden it to build a system that would provide global, rather than just US national, protection against limited missile attacks.

The president in his speech was presenting a ‘‘general framework’’ for a comprehensive security strategy, rather than specific details, a senior administration official said.

Bush will shift emphasis toward a defensive nuclear strategy not just missile defences but also coordinated efforts to stop the global spread of nuclear weapons technologies and away from the traditional US strategy of deterring aggression by maintaining a large offensive nuclear capability.

The United States has about 7,200 nuclear weapons and is committed under the START II treaty to reducing that stockpile to 3,500.

Bush often has said he would like to reduce the nuclear arsenal to the lowest level possible while still maintaining enough weaponry to deter an aggressor, but he has not said exactly how low he would go.

The president in his speech tonight was not committing the United States to specific nuclear cuts, the senior administration official said. ‘‘We’re not ready to get into numbers,’’ the official said.

The officials also said Bush was not announcing a US withdrawal from the Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty, although the administration has made it clear for months that it considers the 1972 treaty outmoded and an illegitimate stumbling block to developing effective missiles defences at the earliest possible date.

Rose Gottemoeller, a foreign and security policy expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said the administration may be considering eliminating the nuclear mission for Air Force bombers like the B-2 and the B-52.

It also is possible that Bush’s expected reductions could lead to a reduced nuclear role for the Navy’s Trident submarines or for the Air Force’s intercontinental ballistic missile force.

Bush discussed his emerging nuclear policy in telephone calls to German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, French President Jacques Chirac, Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien and British Prime Minister Tony Blair, as well as Lord Robertson, the secretary-general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.

Today, just hours before his speech, Bush called Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss disarmament and nuclear weapons, the Kremlin announced.

Bush has said several times that he wants a missile defence that protects US allies as well as the United States, which means it also would shield Europe and Asia.

‘‘The message to Russia is that the development of a missile defence system so we can think beyond the confines of the Cold War era is the best way to preserve the peace,’’ White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said.

Fleischer made clear that while Bush is consulting allies, he does not plan lengthy deliberations with them.

‘‘From the president’s point of view, he views it as a question of leadership,’’ Fleischer said. ‘‘He believes that if the United States leads and that we consult wisely, our allies and friends will find good reason to follow and to join with us.’’