New missile shield plan might expand coverage
ANALYSTS SAY OBAMA ADMINISTRATION HOPES TO SQUEEZE IRAN, PLEASE ISRAEL

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Comments 0
Published: September 19, 2009

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration’s revamped plan for a European missile shield is part of a broad new strategy for squeezing Iran.

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Changes make countries uneasy

WARSAW, Poland — Poles and Czechs voiced deep concern Friday at the decision to scrap a Bush-era missile defense shield planned for their countries. Polish President Lech Kaczynski said he was concerned that Obama’s new strategy leaves Poland in a dangerous "gray zone” between Western Europe and the old Soviet sphere. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he still sees a chance for Poles and Czechs to participate in the redesigned missile defense system. But that did not appear to calm nerves in Warsaw or Prague.

NATO CONSIDERS RUSSIAN LINK

BRUSSELS — NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has urged the Western alliance and Russia to consider linking their defensive missile systems. He says NATO and Russia have a shared interest in combatting the proliferation of intercontinental ballistic missile technology in other countries. In his speech Friday, Fogh Rasmussen said, "If North Korea stays nuclear and if Iran becomes nuclear, some of their neighbors might feel compelled to follow their example.”

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

What’s next

Iran’s nuclear ambitions are expected to be a central focus at a gathering of world leaders at U.N. headquarters in New York next week.

The plan has upset some loyal allies with its appeal to Russia. Yet if the new approach pans out, using more diverse defenses and greater diplomatic leverage, it could provide protection from Iran not only for Europe but also Israel and Arab states in the Persian Gulf who fear the Iranians’ pursuit of missiles and nuclear weapons.

With U.S. troops already stationed on Iran’s eastern and western flanks — in Iraq and Afghanistan — the addition of anti-missile weapons aboard U.S. Navy ships in the region would add to Iran’s military isolation. And the hope is that it would ease Israel’s sense of urgency for taking military action against Iran.

Critics say the emerging Obama approach does too little to enhance protection of the U.S. homeland from missile threats while putting too much stock in intelligence estimates of Iran’s missile plans.

On the diplomatic front, President Barack Obama hopes Russia will find more reason to help stop Iran from building a nuclear bomb.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin called the Obama move a "right and brave decision.”