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| Europe |
| German Defense Minister in Favor of US Missile Shield in Europe |
| 2007-04-12 |
| German Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung on Thursday expressed support for the US plan to build a missile shield in central Europe. The latest developments with IranÂ’s nuclear program reinforce the case for deploying a missile shield to protect Europe from attacks, Jung told Reuters in an interview Thursday. The controversial plan has met with opposition among the ruling coalition in Germany, as well as in Russia and central Europe. Jung, a Christian Democrat, is the first high-ranking German official to speak out strongly in favor of the missile shield plan. "Timely precautions must be taken against the foreseeable increase of the range of offensive missiles of certain problem states, even if it concerns long-term developments," Jung told Reuters. Though the minister avoided naming Iran directly in the interview, it was clear that he had Iran as well as North Korea in mind. When asked how close he thought Iran was to constructing a nuclear weapon, the defense minister said, "According to expert assessments, Iran is years away from that point." He added that it was still possible to stop Iran from becoming a nuclear power through democracy. |
| Posted by:mrp |
| #8 This would be the missile defense system that a) would never work, b) would work so well it would only provoke the enemy, and, c) will serve well enough for our "friends" to cower behind from an enemy they are too morally bankrupt to name. Damn, Excalibur, you know that's going to leave a mark! Luv it! |
| Posted by: Zenster 2007-04-12 21:43 |
| #7 They don't want to pay up, they want a piece of the contracts. |
| Posted by: anonymous2u 2007-04-12 21:17 |
| #6 I'm thinking Little Red Hen. Invite them in if they pay up. In treasure and blood, word, and deed. In the middle east there were walled cities. The walls were there for when the areas were attacked by invading armies. The invading armies would wipe out everything in their paths like locusts. Of course, when one of those walled cities came under siege it was nice to have food available. So each year the locals in the surrounding countryside were responsible for tithing so much grain to put the silos inside the walls of the city. If you didn't tithe, that was fine, but don't expect to gain entrance to the city and enjoy the protection the walls and soldiers offered when the time came. If you could run out and get your tithe in time to beat the invading army, you and your family were allowed in. They understood it then. Do they understand it now? |
| Posted by: gorb 2007-04-12 15:46 |
| #5 Except for Italy. And Spain. Shoot at them all you like. |
| Posted by: mojo 2007-04-12 15:42 |
| #4 It's close the Great Circle route from Iran to the US, but then so is the UK or Greenland (and would provide more reaction time). With interceptors as large and fast as GMD, there is leeway on where they are stationed. For the distances involved, THAAD or ground based Aegis would work just as well to protect Europe and be a lot cheaper. It's a political ploy to tie the US and what's left of Europe against the Iranian nuclear threat. When asked how close he thought Iran was to constructing a nuclear weapon, the defense minister said, "According to expert assessments, Iran is years away from that point." It takes less than a year for 3000 P1 centrifuges to produce enough HEU for a bomb. Though the Chinese-Pakistani (A Q Khan) implosion bomb design seems less than reliable. |
| Posted by: ed 2007-04-12 10:35 |
| #3 I don't know the answer to this question, so I'll ask it here: is there a compelling need for American national security to put a strategic defense missile station in Europe? I can see the advantages for our allies. Indirectly, keeping Europe from being nuked helps us. But do we need this station in the Czech Republic to keep nukes away from New York? |
| Posted by: Steve White 2007-04-12 10:10 |
| #2 German Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung on Thursday expressed support for the US plan to build a missile shield in central Europe. Designed at American expense, installed after paying for all the studies and environmentally friendly preparations, built by American tax payers, and manned by American troops who will bring their economic impact to help boost German unemployment, etc. Ah, no thank you. I'd say get those German scientist on the job now and those Euro bureaucrats busy on a multi nation system design and contract. It's work so well for Airbus. BTW, the Donks are just salivating to cut defense spending, this is a very good place to volunteer. Cost avoidance at the very start. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2007-04-12 09:12 |
| #1 This would be the missile defense system that a) would never work, b) would work so well it would only provoke the enemy, and, c) will serve well enough for our "friends" to cower behind from an enemy they are too morally bankrupt to name. We should make it clear that missiles with trajectories arriving in France or Germany will specifically be exempt from the shield. Let their white flags be their armor. |
| Posted by: Excalibur 2007-04-12 09:07 |