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| Pentagon in "intense review" of Europe missile shield |
| 2009-03-19 |
| A plan to expand a controversial U.S. ballistic-missile shield into Eastern Europe is being scrutinized as part of a 2010 budget request to be sent to Congress next month, the Pentagon's chief financial officer told Congress on Wednesday. "I can tell you that issue is under intense review," Robert Hale, the Defense Department's comptroller, told the House of Representatives' Budget Committee. In addition, he said, "nothing is off the table" as a candidate for cuts or cancellation among major arms programs in the spending plan for fiscal 2010, which starts October 1. "But no final decisions have been made." President Barack Obama has suggested the United States would have no need to deploy proposed missile defenses in Eastern Europe if Moscow could help stop Iran from developing long-range weapons. Obama outlined his position in a confidential letter last month to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. Russia has strongly opposed the plan, pushed by former President George W. Bush, to put 10 two-stage interceptor missiles in Poland, backed by an advanced radar in the Czech Republic, to help defend against Iran. Obama sent Congress a budget overview on February 26 calling for a total of $663.7 billion for the Defense Department in 2010. This includes $533.7 billon in the core budget that funds ongoing military programs, plus $130 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. |
| Posted by:ed |
| #1 "But no final decisions have been made." Heh. If you believe that I know of some subprime paper we can sell you too. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2009-03-19 09:16 |