US Missile Defense Plan Unrealistic: German Defence MinisterWashington's project for a national missile defense (NMD) shield is "still not very realistic," German Defense Minister Rudolf Scharping says in a newspaper interview to be published Thursday."The technical feasibility and the financing for a strategic anti-missile defense are still far from being clear," Scharping told the daily Berliner Zeitung. On possibility for clashes between the United States and its European partners over the plan, Scharping said the two sides would certainly have to discuss it. "We must understand the potential consequences of an anti-missile shield for European security and for international disarmament efforts," he added. But the strategic interests of Washington and Europe on common defense issues "coincide 100 percent," he said. Scharping said he expected a continuity in US foreign and defense policy under the new administration of President George W. Bush. |
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