press conference by secretary of defense robert gates
on missile defense against iran
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
March 3, 2009
Excerpts
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Q: President Obama said today that he had sent a letter to Russia, regarding missile defense. Are you trying to essentially put Russians on the spot here and say, you know, all right, go ahead and do something to lessen the Iranian threat, and we will then take away the missile defense program that Russia so detests?
And are you concerned at all about the message this sends, to Poland and the Czech Republic, not to have a final answer from the U.S. yet, as to whether you will in fact go ahead with the commitments you've already made in those countries?
SEC. GATES: I told the Russians a year ago that if there were no Iranian missile threat that there would be no need for the third site in Europe, the third missile defense site in Europe.
I don't think at all that this is trying to put the Russians on the spot. I think it is trying to reopen a dialogue and say, we are open to talking with you, about how we address this problem and how we can move forward. And obviously one approach would be, if we can persuade the Iranians not to go forward with their ballistic missile program, if we'd do that together.
Another alternative is, as we have talked with the Russians before, of incorporating them in a partnership that makes them a full partner in missile defense, because the reality is that the missiles that the Iranians are testing can reach a good part of Russia, as well as Eastern Europe and part of Western Europe.
These missiles cannot reach the United States at this point. This is part of our commitment to a European missile defense. And so I don't think anybody was trying to put the Russians on the spot.
This really was about saying, look, here's the cause of the concern; can we do something about the cause? And if not, then what can we do together to deal with a potential threat to you, the Russians, as well as Western and Eastern Europe?
Q: And the message to Poland and Czech Republic?
SEC. GATES: Well, I think that the message that I gave Prime Minister Tusk was, give us a little time. The administration has not had an opportunity to look comprehensively yet at our relationship with Russia and arms control and all the different aspects of the relationship, which includes the potential for a partnership in missile defense.
So I think that, I mean, my sense was that the Poles were somewhat reassured. They obviously would like to see us go forward quickly and strongly. But it is a new administration, as is evident. There are many critical issues on the president's plate right now. And this is one that we'll get to as quickly as we can.
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