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US State Department Informs Diplomats of Anti-Missile Test Plans
US State Department has informed its diplomats around the world that tests of a US anti- missile system soon will break the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, officials said Thursday.
In a memorandum sent to US embassies and consulates July 3, the State Department said that the tests "will come into conflict with the ABM treaty in months, not years."
The memorandum claimed that missiles in countries armed with small number of weapons of mass destruction "pose a significant threat to deployed U.S. forces and friends and U.S. allies abroad. "
"The United States needs release from the constraints of the ABM treaty to pursue the most promising technologies and basing modes to field limited, but effective missile defenses," it said.
U.S. is expected to have its first flight test in a year of interceptors designed to shoot down long-range missiles Saturday. The Pentagon failed in its test last July.
The Bush administration, describing the 1972 ABM treaty with Russia a relic of the Cold War, has threatened to withdraw from the treaty to clear its way for the missile defense system. The treaty bans deployment in any state except North Dakota of a US shield against long-range missiles.
There was no immediate reaction from the Russian government. But Russian President Vladimir Putin warned earlier that US withdrawal of ABM treaty could touch off a new nuclear arms race.
Many U.S. allies are also skeptical of Bush administration's plan of missile defense system.
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