"We will deploy missile defenses to strengthen global security and stability," Bush said Tuesday in a speech at the National Defense University that focused on meeting security challenges that have arisen since the Soviet Union collapsed.

Bush's comments came as he waged a stepped-up diplomatic campaign to convert US allies and Russia -- which worry that the plan could spark a new arms race -- into missile defense believers by personally calling world leaders and dispatching high-level officials to their capitals.

In an apparent bid to mollify Moscow, Bush said he favored unilateral cuts in the US arsenal to "the lowest possible number of nuclear weapons consistent with our national security needs, including our obligations to our allies."

"My goal is to move quickly to reduce nuclear forces. The United States will lead by example to achieve our interests and the interests for peace in the world," said Bush, who outlined his plan in a telephone call to Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier in the day.

"Today's most urgent threat stems not from thousands of ballistic missiles in the Soviet hands, but from a small number of missiles in the hands of ... states for whom terror and blackmail are a way of life," he said.

As a result, "Cold War deterrence is no longer enough to maintain peace," Bush said, and the Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty with Moscow "does not recognize the present or point us to the future. It enshrines the past."

Bush did not provide specifics like cost or timetable and left open what final form the system -- which critics say is costly and impotent -- will take. He did say, however, that officials were looking at air-, land- and sea-based technology.

In an interview later on CNN, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld justified Bush's announcement, in part, by citing China's build-up of missiles.

"The truth is that the Chinese have been building more, they are building more, they are going to build more -- quite apart from any ABM treaty," Rumsfeld said.

"They are not a party to the treaty," he said.

Rumsfeld also supported the anti-ballistic shield as a defense against rogue states. "The idea that we should remain vulnerable to a Saddam Hussein or to Iran or to North Korea or to some other country that might get their hands on these capabilities ... is so patently unwise and dangerous that the real questions have to be what are the risks if we don't deploy ballistic missile defense."

In a separate interview with Fox television, Rumsfeld also stressed the "constraining" nature of the ABM treaty.

The ABM treaty's proscription against national missile defenses stemmed from concerns that having one in place might tempt either the United States or the Soviet Union to launch a first strike and rely on the system to knock out the retaliatory strike.

Cold War deterrence, on the other hand, depended on each side fearing that a first strike would result in mutual annihilation.

Bush stopped short of saying Washington would withdraw from the ABM accord, which is widely seen as the cornerstone of Cold War arms control.

But the president urged Russia and US allies in Europe and Asia to help "replace this treaty with a new framework that reflects a clear and clean break from the past, and especially from the adversarial legacy of the Cold War."

Putin told Bush by telephone that Russia was ready to cooperate in dealing with possible threats to global security, but reiterated the need to maintain the cornerstone treaties that had so far ensured strategic stability.

Prominent Russian lawmaker Dmitry Rogozin warned that if Washington replaced the ABM treaty, "that would destroy the entire security system we have today," and could push Russia to fulfill its threat of renouncing the START-2 weapons reduction treaty.

Bush announced he was dispatching Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz and Steve Hadley, Bush's deputy national security advisor, to Europe, Asia, Australia and Canada next week.

"These will be real consultations: We are not presenting our friends and allies with unilateral decisions already made," he promised in his first major speech on the subject since taking office January 20.

On Monday, Bush telephoned the leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany and the NATO secretary general to start the consultation process, and apprised Japan of his plans on Friday, White House officials said.

In his speech, he indicated that he would also reach out to China.

"The leaders were pleased that we're sincere about our desire to go through consultations," he said in a brief appearance at the White House Rose Garden after the speech.

Related Links
SpaceDaily
Search SpaceDaily
Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only