Bush: US Must Move Beyond Constraints of ABM

President George W. Bush said Tuesday that the United States must move beyond the constraints of the 1972 the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty with Russia.

In a major speech at the National Defense University, Bush committed the United States to building a defense against ballistic missile attack, and indicated he would not allow a Cold War-era arms treaty to stand in the way.

"We need a new framework that allows us to build missile defenses to counter the different threats of today's world," Bush said.

The treaty ignored technological breakthroughs of the past 30 years and prohibited the United States from exploring options to defend itself against threats facing America and its allies, Bush claimed.

"That's why we should work together to replace this treaty with a new framework, that reflects a clear and clean break from the past, and especially from the adversarial legacy of the Cold War,"he said.

However, military experts said the ABM Treaty has served as a cornerstone of global strategic balance and stability since it was concluded. Even today, the treaty still provides a security framework for multilateral nuclear disarmament and for further bilateral reductions of nuclear arsenals by the United States and Russia.

"To maintain peace, protect our own citizens and our own allies and friends we must seek security based on more than the grim premise that we can destroy those who seek to destroy us," Bush asserted.

He said he was sending senior aides to allied capitals in Europe, Asia, Australia and Canada to discuss "our common responsibility to create a new framework for security and stability that reflects the world of today."

Bush's remarks marked the start of an intensified campaign to convince America's European and Asian allies -- as well as Russia, China and others hostile to the idea of missile defense -- that attacks by ballistic missiles can best be deterred by defenses rather than large offenses.

Bush also said he was inclined to make unilateral cuts in nuclear weapons in a way that "reflects the reality that the Cold War is over."

"I'm committed to achieving a credible deterrent with the lowest possible number of nuclear weapons consistent with our national needs, including our obligation to our allies. My goal is to move quickly to reduce nuclear forces. The United States will lead by example to achieve our interests," he said.

Analysts said the U.S. plan to build a missile defense system will not only spark a new arms race and create a proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, but will also threaten world peace and security in the 21st century.

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