14 June 2002
Byliner: Deputy Secretary of Defense Wolfowitz: Beyond the ABM Treaty
(Op-ed column from the Wall Street Journal on Friday, 06/14/02) (930)
(This byliner by Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz first
appeared in the Wall Street Journal June 14 and is in the public
domain. No republication restrictions.)
Beyond the ABM Treaty
Paul Wolfowitz
Last year the president announced our intention to withdraw from the
1972 ABM treaty. Yesterday, that withdrawal formally took effect.
As a result, we are now free to develop, test and deploy effective
defenses against missile attacks from states like North Korea and Iran
-- states that are aggressively seeking weapons of mass destruction
and long-range missiles. As the president said in his State of the
Union Address, we will not allow the world's most dangerous regimes to
threaten us with the world's most dangerous weapons.
We need to defend against all avenues of attack with weapons of mass
destruction. Missiles in the hands of states that support terrorism
are a growing threat to the U.S. and our friends and allies. We've
watched rogue states invest scarce resources to acquire increasingly
capable missiles even while they starve their people. Until yesterday,
because of the ABM treaty, we have not been able to develop
appropriate defenses against this threat.
We are at a turning point in defense and deterrence policy. We can now
move forward with the robust development and testing program that the
Department of Defense has designed to take advantage of new
technologies and basing modes. Recent tests provide a foundation on
which to proceed. Development and testing will continue, but we will
also begin to deploy effective layered defenses against limited
missile attack.
Tomorrow, the U.S. will break ground in Alaska on silos to house
missile-defense interceptors. These silos, scheduled to be completed
in 2004, are part of our test program but could give us, for the first
time, an emergency capability to protect our country in a crisis. We
are determined to improve these initial defenses over time, building
additional silos there and possibly in other locations for operational
deployment of ground-based interceptors.
This week, the U.S. is also testing an interceptor from a Navy
destroyer against a missile off the coast of Hawaii -- a needed step
toward deployment of sea-based missile defenses. If our testing and
development efforts progress as planned, we should be able to begin
initial deployments of sea-based interceptors in the 2004-2005 period.
We will soon reach another milestone in our pursuit of advanced
technologies for missile defenses as well. The prototype Airborne
Laser is scheduled to attempt to shoot down a target missile. If
successful, the program could represent a major advance in
missile-defense capabilities.
In addition to limiting development and deployment, the ABM treaty
prohibited us from sharing and working on missile defense with other
nations. The president is committed to working closely with them now
to address the shared threat we face and helping to extend
missile-defense protection to our friends and allies. Over the coming
weeks and months, the administration will open a new phase of dialogue
on the issue. We will explore ways to deepen existing cooperative
efforts and begin new joint programs to develop missile-defense
systems.
The end of the ABM treaty also marks a historic milestone in our
strategic relationship with Russia. We no longer have a treaty that
divides us by assuming that our security is derived from our ability
to destroy each other. We can now base our relations not on mutual
destruction but on mutual interests. It was clear during President
Bush's visit to Moscow and St. Petersburg that both our countries are
committed to the new course.
Over the past year, we have worked hard to improve relations with
Russia, and made good progress together. Today, the U.S. removes a
Cold War structure that prevented us from defending ourselves in the
name of preserving the nuclear balance of terror.
We take this step in full confidence that doing so will not cause an
arms race with Russia, as some had predicted. In fact, the treaty
recently signed in Moscow will reduce our nuclear arsenals to their
lowest levels in decades. Even more important, we have agreed to
cooperate on a host of economic, political, and security issues of
common interest, including missile defense.
As a result of hard work and determination on both sides, relations
with Russia -- and between Russia and our NATO allies -- are entering
a new and promising era. Future U.S.-Russian summits will not be
dominated by the question: What treaty are you planning to sign to
regulate the nuclear balance of terror? Instead, we will focus on
cooperating to meet the security challenges facing both our nations,
the war on terrorism, and what we can do to enrich the lives of our
peoples through closer economic, cultural, and political ties.
At the dawn of the 21st century, the time has come to bury the last
vestiges of the Cold War and to reorient our national security
policies. By working with others, forging relationships with new
friends like Russia, and adapting to meet new challenges, we can make
the world a safer place for years to come. Our withdrawal from the ABM
treaty represents an important step in bringing about a safer world
for all Americans, as well as for our friends and allies.
(Mr. Wolfowitz is the deputy secretary of defense.)
(end text)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov).
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