BBC: US, UK 'in missile defence talks'

"The UK and US governments have been holding discussions on the possibility of positioning a US anti-ballistic missile defence system on UK soil.

An article in The Economist claims UK Prime Minister Tony Blair has lobbied the US president for the system. "

**********

"Russia said the system, which tracks and destroys missiles launched against the US, will trigger an arms race.

Such a system uses radar and satellites to detect enemy missile launches and to guide interceptors to their targets. "

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6388713.stm

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=103x264788

:hi:

I'll check that out.

Sky news had a defence analyst on and despite being led by the nose he was insisting it was a very bad idea and waste of money... so it'll be good to see the Economist's take on it.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070223/pl_afp/britainusdefence_070223151856

for some reason the title cracked me up. :D

even if it is on an unworkable boondoggle like the missile defense system

Max and Stacy, based in Paris and who put together the best podcast on the Net, were talking about it last night.

http://karmabanqueradio.com/?p=375

But the dispute over the planned US missile defence system continued to simmer on Thursday. Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, said Moscow’s complaints arose from concerns on how such defences were being handled between Russia and the west. He said western countries in the Nato-Russia Council, which deals with military ties between Moscow and the alliance, had insisted on ”calling a break” in talks on co-operation on missile defence.

The pause in consultations appeared to have been “tailor-made to coincide with” the US move to position parts of its national missile system in eastern Europe, he complained.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/e6535e6c-c29c-11db-9e1c-000b5df10621.html

:kick:

A system of U.S. anti-ballistic weapons could be placed in England if U.S. plans to put them in Eastern Europe fail, a report said.

The Independent reported Saturday that U.S. and British officials have been negotiating the missile plan.

The Prime Minister thinks it is a good idea that we are part of the consideration by the U.S. We believe that it is an important step towards providing missile defense coverage for Europe, of which we are part, a spokesman for Prime Minister Tony Blair told the newspaper. U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission in London David Johnson said the Pentagon would rather place the missiles farther east than England.

As we go forward, there may be opportunities for us to talk to other countries about their needs, but right now we are concentrating on the Czech Republic and on Poland as the primary sites where we would be looking for this, he told BBC Radio. U.S. plans to place the defense system in Eastern Europe were seen as a threat to Russia by Kremlin officials. U.S. officials have said the system would be placed to intercept weapons launched from Iran, not Russia.


http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/34002.html

Getting either of them to work would take a miracle.

our paranoid rightwingnut war machine. i.e., our military bases all over the world, the black hole money pit of the Pentagon, and the CIA.