#15 - RW 10-15-04 - RW Home
Mosnews.com
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October 12, 2004
Russian Defense Expert Calls Alaska Anti-Missile Systems PR Stunt

A leading Russian defense expert said on Tuesday that the U.S. deployment of missile interceptor systems in Alaska was not caused by military needs and was just a propaganda move, the Interfax news agency reports.

Deputy director of the All-Russian Institute of Nuclear Energy Machine Building, Igor Ostretsov, told the agency that the idea of the national ABM system in the U.S. had no perspective in the technological sense. “This became clear as early as in the 80s when the SDI system was discussed. The deployment of the first missile interceptors in Alaska, prepared for the presidential elections in the U.S., is nothing but a PR stunt,” Ostretsov said.

In the 1970s and 1980s Igor Ostretsov worked on the development of the Soviet Union’s stealth technologies for intercontinental ballistic missiles.

Last week, a senior U.S. diplomat said that the U.S. missile defense system could become operational within weeks, helping counter threats posed by nations such as Iran. Stephen G. Rademaker, the assistant U.S. secretary of state for arms control, said that the missile interceptors in Alaska are expected to enter service in the “nearest weeks”.

Rademaker’s statement comes amid expectations that the U.S. administration will shortly declare to the world that the missile defense system is operational and on alert. Such an announcement would be particularly valuable for President George W. Bush if it came before the Nov. 2 elections. Bush has touted the system while campaigning for re-election.

After years of vociferous protests, Russia reacted calmly to the deployment of the U.S. missile shield ­ the subdued response reflecting warmer U.S.-Russian ties, bolstered by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s support for the U.S.-led war against terror.