17 July 2001

Russia Has No Veto Over U.S. Missile Defense Plans, Wolfowitz Says

Washington -- Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz has warned Congress not to "give Russia the mistaken impression that they can somehow exercise a veto over our development of missile defenses" that the Bush administration is determined to put in place.

The administration's clear preference is to reach an understanding with Russia on changes to the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (ABM) to permit implementation of an effective missile defense, and officials are optimistic about the prospects for achieving such an agreement, Wolfowitz told the Senate Armed Services Committee July 17.

But the "unintended consequence" of misleading signals from Congress "could be to rule out a cooperative solution," Wolfowitz said. And that would leave the president "no choice but to walk away from the treaty unilaterally," he declared.

The 1972 treaty between the United States and the former Soviet Union prohibits the development and deployment of all but very limited anti-ballistic missile defense systems. A treaty provision allows either party to pull out upon six months' notice.

The committee hearing revealed continuing doubts on the part of some senators, notably key members of the Democratic majority, as to the wisdom of the administration's approach in speeding the testing and development process -- a move that could lead to potential conflicts with ABM treaty provisions within a matter of months.

Chairman Carl Levin (Democrat, Michigan) told Wolfowitz and Lt. Gen. Ronald Kadish, director of the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization, who joined him in testifying, that "protecting and defending the American people must be our goal in all we do."

But he expressed concern that America would be less, not more secure if, in order to meet the "highly unlikely threat" of a missile attack by a country like North Korea, "you rip up an arms control treaty," thereby starting "a new kind of arms race or Cold War with Russia and China."

"Long before it even submitted this budget request before us, this administration notified the world that it would rip up the ABM treaty if Russia refused to modify it. Congress will hopefully find a more moderate course than that," Levin said.

His concerns were echoed by Senator Max Cleland (Democrat, Georgia). Pointing to the treaty of "friendship and cooperation" signed between Russia and China only the day before -- one that cites their joint opposition to the U.S. missile defense plan -- Cleland complained that "We've driven the Russians and the Chinese into the arms of one another."

Newspaper photos of the signing ceremony had "a chilling impact on me," Cleland said. He said he is convinced that the developments concerning missile defense "make the world less secure."

In his opening statement, Wolfowitz acknowledged that "our testing and development program will eventually encounter the constraints imposed by the ABM treaty." He said efforts to "move beyond" that pact are proceeding on two parallel tracks: "First, with a robust research, development and testing program; and second, through discussions with Russia on a new security framework that reflects the fact that the Cold War is over and that the U.S. and Russia are not enemies."

The help of Congress is vital in both areas, he told the committee.

"First, we need Congress' support to fully fund the president's budget request" for development and testing, Wolfowitz said. And second, "we need Congress' support for President Bush's efforts to achieve an understanding with Russia on ballistic missile defense."

During an exchange with Senator Jack Reed (Democrat, Rhode Island), Wolfowitz assured the committee that "we are not going to violate the treaty" so long as it stays in effect. If a particular test event were deemed to conflict with treaty provisions while the pact remained in effect, the administration would "fix the event to comply" -- either changing procedures or deferring the test, he said.