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WASHINGTON – The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is rushing to assuage Moscow over the deployment of an anti-missile defense system in Europe, even though Russia’s top military chief, Gen. Nikolai Makarov, has threatened to attack those sites in Europe, says a report from Joseph Farah’s G2 Bulletin.
“A decision to use destructive force preemptively will be taken if the situation worsens,” Makarov said at a recent international conference.
The Russians say that the defense system is aimed at their missiles, which would have the effect of diminishing Russia’s nuclear deterrence and military capabilities.
The West, however, says the anti-missile defense system now undergoing deployment is aimed at halting any Iranian missile that may be targeted toward Europe and the United States.
More level-headed people believe that Moscow never would carry through with its threat to destroy the European missile sites.
Alexander Golts, a defense expert, said that the Kremlin was building political pressure before the NATO summit later this month in Chicago and “probably” has no intention of following through with a strike against the U.S. or NATO.
“To deliver a preemptive strike means to unleash a war which the Kremlin will never dare,” Golts said.
Even NATO’s deputy secretary-general, Alexander Vershbow, an American, said that there was no desire to upset the global strategic stability with the planned missile defense system.
Vershbow claims that Russia’s criticism of the NATO missile defense shield is overblown and that the two sides will be able to reach an agreement.
He further states that Moscow’s assumptions about the Western defense system are wrong. He said that one of the assumptions is that NATO could shoot down a Russian rocket before it had consumed all of its fuel.
Vershbow said that could not happen , claiming that the size and quality of the European missile shield could not reach the size to threaten Russia’s capabilities.
“We would need 20 times more interceptors,” Vershbow said.
Vershbow even produced published reports quoting two retired Russian generals who had concluded that NATO’s missile defense system wouldn’t significantly reduce Russia’s capabilities.
Russia has demanded that the missile system not be upgraded to increase its capabilities.
However, Vershbow pointed out that U.S. President Barack Obama had promised the U.S. Senate that there would be no limits imposed on the shield’s capabilities.
While Moscow has demanded legal guarantees to limit the shield’s capabilities, Vershbow said that the parliaments of NATO members would never agree.
All that Vershbow could give were assurances not to use force against each other, as outlined in a 1997 treaty with Russia.
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