July 6, 2006 :: Financial Times :: News
NATO is considering plans for a Europe-wide missile defense system that would protect the entire continent from Iranian and North Korean missile strikes, reports the Financial Times. Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, NATO secretary-general, has urged member states to seriously consider a recently issued 10,000-page report recommending such a system. “We need to have an active debate within the alliance on missile defense to ensure that we have a common view and a common way forward,” said a spokesman for De Hoop Scheffer. The 26 NATO ambassadors are likely to discuss the conclusions of the report soon, according to the Financial Times.
In recent years, European governments have begun to take the idea of missile defense seriously. NATO has already begun work on a theater missile defense system to protect deployed troops, scheduled to be operational by 2010. In addition, several member states such as Poland, the Czech Republic, and Britain, are currently in talks with the U.S. about the possibility of allowing the Pentagon to deploy missile defense assets on their territories. (Article)
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