US considers missile defence system for Europe

The United States is considering establishing a missile defence system in Europe designed to stop a ballistic missile threat from the Middle East, the Pentagon said today.

A spokesman said they had been in discussions with European allies for several years about putting 10 anti-missile interceptors in place.

The New York Times reported that the system was intended to thwart a potential attack from Iran and that the US wanted it in place by 2001.

Poland and the Czech Republic were said to be among the nations under consideration.

According to unnamed Pentagon officials a recommendation is expected to be made this summer to Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, the newspaper said.

It added that the Pentagon had asked Congress for $56m to begin initial work on the site, and that the final cost was estimated at $1.6bn.

A Defense Department spokesman confirmed that talks were ongoing with Poland among various countries, but would not name others individually or specify where in the Middle East the threat was perceived to come from.

“The deployment of ballistic missile defines systems to Europe would make a significant contribution to the protection of the US and European allies from a Middle Eastern ballistic missile threat,” Lieutenant Commander Joe Carpenter said.

“The US has been examining the feasibility of fielding BMD assets in Europe for several years.

“Beginning in 2002, we’ve held consultations with a number of our allies about their willingness to host defines interceptors, including Poland.

“We expect to continue these consultations in the coming weeks and months with countries who have expressed interest.

“The Department of Defense is currently collecting and evaluating information from a variety of sources prior to making a decision on whether to move forward with placing additional ballistic missile defines assets in Europe.

“No decision has been made about whether and where to field missile defence assets in Europe, although we are taking the steps necessary to make a recommendation to the Secretary of Defense.”

Lieutenant Commander Joe Carpenter added that besides a site for the interceptors, radars to track any attack would also be needed, and they could be based on a separate site.

Washington believes Iran is using its civilian nuclear program as a cover to produce nuclear weapons, but Iran insists it is only for power generation.

The Ministry of Defense would not comment on the report.