House Armed Services: Slow Down on European Missile Defense

May 3 (LPAC)--The Armed Forces Subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee voted unanimously yesterday to block funds for construction of an anti-missile defense system in Poland which has been repeatedly denounced by Russian leaders.

While the House voted up funds to continue development of a radar and interceptors that could be used in the Czech Republic, they could also be used in the U.S. if the Czech Republic votes not to allow them.

Rep. Ellen Tauscher (D-Calif.), Chair of the Subcommittee, said in a recent interview, "There has to be a debate" on the Eastern Europe deployment. In an April 19 speech to the Atlantic Council, Tauscher said that the Bush Administration had conducted only "limited bilateral negotiations" to extend the missile defense system to Europe; that there is currently "no NATO consensus on the Bush Administration's proposal;" and, that the U.S. Missile Defense Agency "has only concluded one successful test of the ground-based system since 2002, which occurred in September 2006."

In his statement at the hearing yesterday, Ranking Republican Rep. Terry Everett (Ala.), acknowledged that no agreements had been reached with either Poland or the Czech Republic to station this system.

The unanimous rejection of the funds for construction of a Polish anti-missile defense site is another blow to the Bush Administration. Defense Secretary Robert Gates was in Russia last week, trying to persuade the Russian leadership to go along.