Tauscher Urges NATO To Spend More On Missile Defenses

Wed. Apr. 30, 2008


A key House Armed Services Democrat said Tuesday that she wants NATO allies to invest more heavily in short- and mid-range missile defense systems to protect Europe from Iranian missile threats.

Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee Chairwoman Ellen Tauscher, D-Calif., said she ultimately would like to see European countries tie shorter-range protection capabilities to the long-range missile defense site the Bush administration has proposed placing in Europe, ostensibly to protect NATO allies and the United States.

Tauscher, who recently spoke at the NATO summit in Bucharest, Romania, expressed disappointment that funding for a European missile defense system was not a high-priority topic during the meeting.

The meeting yielded a decision by NATO leaders to assert their commitment to a missile defense system that protects against a wide range of threats, but fell short of pledging to invest in the system.

"We need to have NATO make the decision that this is part of what they are going to put their investments toward," Tauscher said during a wide-ranging interview.

The Bush administration's proposed European missile defense site has been the subject of much debate in Europe and continues to draw opposition from Russia, which has conveyed strong security concerns to top U.S. officials.

Tauscher criticized the administration's initial plans for the site, which she said would offer no protection for European countries that could become targets for Iran's short- and mid-range missiles. But the site would have some capability to protect Europe from other future long-range threats.

As she works the issue in the United States and Europe, Tauscher is working to convince allies of the need for a tiered, layered defense to protect against Iran's missile arsenal -- a challenging task, in part, because the United States has lost credibility in Europe because of the Iraq war, she said.

"It's about priorities and our ability to make the case," Tauscher said. "Part of the reason why we have not been able to make the case is because of Iraq, because we are no longer the intelligence source for most of our European friends and because we have lost the ability to persuade."

Tauscher has been instrumental in restricting funding for 10 missile interceptors for the European missile defense site until Poland and the Czech Republic ratify proposals to have them host key facilities. She has said she will restrict funding again this year if the two countries do not formally approve the plan.

The Czech Republic, which would house the early-missile warning site, is reportedly close to ratifying the agreement. But there is more resistance in Poland, where the United States wants to erect a launch site for missile interceptors.

During the interview, Tauscher stressed that the long-range system still needs "much more scrutiny and testing." But she lauded other systems, including the ship-based Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System, which she suggested could be used to protect Europe now.

Tauscher would not provide specific details of her subcommittee's markup of the FY09 defense authorization bill, which is scheduled for next week. But she said she continues to have concerns about some long-term programs under her jurisdiction, including the Airborne Laser and Kinetic Energy Interceptor, which she tried to cut funding from last year.

"We believe our investments need to be put forward ... to deal with the current threat," Tauscher said.

by Megan Scully

Wed. Apr. 30, 2008