Saturday, January 27, 2001, updated at 10:48(GMT+8)
World
President Bush Vows to Modernize U.S. Defense
President George W. Bush Friday reaffirmed his commitment to creating a modern U.S. defense system with revolutionary technologies.
At the swearing-in ceremony for Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, President Bush laid out his administration's goals for defense, promising to "create the military of the future that takes full advantage of revolutionary new technology."
Bush is determined to deploy a national missile defense (NMD) system despite objections from Russia and other countries.
Bush praised Rumsfeld as an expert on missile defense. "We will work to defend our people and our allies against growing threats: the threats of missiles, information warfare, the threats of biological, chemical and nuclear weapons," he said.