United States and Canada

Turkey to oppose hosting US missile shield, Turkish diplomats say

By Zaman

From Zaman: Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has denied media reports that Turkey is buying missile interceptors against a threat posed by Iran . . . Turkey has long been sensitive over the deployment of US missile systems on its soil and instead opted to come under the missile shield umbrella of NATO, of which […]

Poland eyes closer EU security ties after shield

By Reuters

From Reuters: Poland should seek closer security ties within Europe following U.S. President Barack Obama’s decision to scrap a Bush-era missile defense plan, Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said on Monday . . . “I hope this will prove a salutary shock, especially for the right end of Poland’s political spectrum,” Sikorski told TOK FM radio, […]

Russia Tries to Control the Reset Button

By the New York Times

From the New York Times: When Russia issues a reminder that it wants to buy an advanced, helicopter-carrying warship from France that’s built for amphibious assaults — hello all you folks along the Black, Baltic and Caspian Seas — then it’s pressing deeper its own reset button on altered relations with the United States and […]

Russia says it won’t deploy missiles near Poland

By the AP

From the AP: Russia said Saturday it will scrap a plan to deploy missiles near Poland since Washington has dumped a planned missile shield in Eastern Europe . . . Russia’s Deputy Defense Minister Vladimir Popovkin told Ekho Moskvy radio Saturday that [President Barack] Obama’s move has made the deployment of Iskander short-range missiles in […]

Secretary of State Clinton: Poland Will Get Patriot missiles and the Czech Republic Gets R/D funding

By the Department of State

From the Department of State: We are not reducing our capacity to protect our interests and our allies from Iran. By contrast, we are increasing that capacity and focusing it on our best understanding of Iran’s current capabilities. And most of all, we would never, never walk away from our allies. We have recommitted ourselves […]

Sec. Gen. Rasmussen: “linking the US, NATO and Russia missile defence systems”

By NATO

From NATO: Yesterday, the US announced its plans with regard to a missile defence which can include and can protect all European allies. These plans will involve an even greater role for NATO with regard to missile defence in Europe – and I welcome that as a positive step. In my view, the proliferation of […]

NATOSource: Capital Hill Republicans Announce Opposition to White House Missile Defense Decision

This morning’s announcement by President Obama that the U.S. will abandon its planned missile defense system with Poland and the Czech Republic has produced immediate and negative responses from Congressional leaders. Congressman John Boehner, the House minority leader, told the New York Times that, “[s]crapping the U.S. missile defense system in Poland and the Czech […]

Europe reacts to Obama dropping missile defence shield

By the Guardian

From the Guardian: Ellen Tauscher, the state department’s under-secretary for arms control, and Alexander Vershbow, deputy defence secretary and former US ambassador to Russia and Nato, were in Warsaw and Prague today doing the explaining . . . “The Americans only cared about their interests. They used everybody else,” said Lech Walesa, the former Polish […]

NATO expects close work with U.S. on missiles

By Reuters

From Reuters: NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said he had spoken to U.S. officials on Thursday but did not react directly to the reports that Washington is backing away from its missile defense project involving sites in Poland and the Czech Republic, which has provoked Russian concerns. “It is my clear impression that the American […]

FACT SHEET U.S. Missile Defense Policy A Phased, Adaptive Approach for Missile Defense in Europe

By the White House

From the White House: Throughout all four phases, the United States also will be testing and updating a range of approaches for improving our sensors for missile defense. The new distributed interceptor and sensor architecture also does not require a single, large, fixed European radar that was to be located in the Czech Republic; this […]