Kucinich: NATO Missile Defense Program Provokes Ally

Washington D.C. (May 4, 2012) -- Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), a longtime opponent of the proposed European missile “defense” system, today made the following statement after Russia announced it would be prepared to use “destructive force preemptively” if the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (at the behest of the United States) moves forward to establish the missile system:

“Russia’s response demonstrates that it views NATO’s placement of the missile system in Central Europe as a threat to its own security, since the missile’s placement is near the Russian border. Neocons who have long sought to rekindle a Cold War with Russia have promoted a policy of ‘encirclement,’ one aspect of which is the placement of a missile system around Russia’s border.

“NATO would be wise not to provoke a confrontation over this matter,” said Kucinich.

 “As a longtime opponent of this missile system, I welcomed the Obama Administration’s plans to scrap the European Ground-Based Mid-Course Defense (GMD) system in 2010 due to the high cost to the U.S. taxpayer and doubts regarding its capabilities.

“This plan which proposes placing missiles in NATO countries such as Poland and Romania, supposedly to counter any Iranian missile threat, is no more acceptable than its predecessor,” said Kucinich.

An assessment by the National Academy of Sciences puts the cost of the system at 3 times more than the Administration’s estimate and calls into question the ability of the system to offer protection to the United States. 

“Even without regard to the price or reliability of these missiles, it needlessly compromises our diplomatic relationship with Russia after significant strides have been made between our two countries over the past two years,” said Kucinich.