Bush looking to resolve dispute over missile defence

Washington - President George W Bush departs Monday on a four-nation European tour including the NATO summit in Romania before heading to Russia for critical missile-defence talks with President Vladimir Putin. Bush was 'optimistic' he can bridge differences with the outgoing Putin over the controversial US plans to station a missile defence system in former Warsaw Pact states Poland and the Czech Republic, and resolve the dispute that has dragged relations to their lowest point since the end of the Cold War. 'I think a lot of people in Europe would have a deep sigh of relief if we're able to reach an accord on missile defence,' Bush told reporters. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defence Secretary Robert Gates flew to Moscow for meetings March 17-18 with their Russian counterparts proposing a strategic framework for cooperating on common threats and partnering on missile defence in Europe. Lower level negotiations continued Wednesday and Thursday in Washington, and US officials said there was progress in building trust and transparency with the Russians over missile defence, but did not cite any tangible progress toward an agreement. 'Only time will tell whether we will, in fact, be as successful as we think we can be, but we are making progress,' said John Rood, the US undersecretary of state for arms control. Russia is sceptical about US claims the system will be deployed to counter Iran's growing ballistic missile capability and sees it as a threat to its nuclear deterrent. Rice has said the system of 10 interceptor missiles in Poland linked to a radar site in the Czech Republic is too small to respond to the hundreds of missiles in Russia's nuclear fleet. The United States proposed allowing Russia to monitor and inspect the sites but that offer has not assuaged Moscow's concerns. 'A whole series of transparency and confidence-building measures have been developed that we have put on the table with our Russian colleagues related to their ability to monitor and inspect,' Rood said. The United States and the two host countries are nearing agreements to deploy the long-range missile-defence system by a 2013 timeframe. Rood said negotiations with the Russians will continue but would not predict the document would be complete by the time Bush arrives April 6 or 7 in the Black Sea resort town of Sochi for his meeting with Putin. Afghanistan will be high on the agenda when Bush arrives in Bucharest for the April 2-4 NATO summit. The United States has pushed allies to send more troops to Afghanistan and lift restrictions on already deployed forces that limit them to non- combat roles. 'The president's message is going to be one of the importance of success in Afghanistan, the need for all countries to make it as a priority ... and the need for all of us to do more,' said Stephen Hadley, Bush's national security adviser. French President Nicolas Sarkozy pledged earlier this week he would send more troops to Afghanistan, but it remained unclear if the soldiers would go to relatively safe areas around Kabul or join the NATO fight in southern Afghanistan against the Taliban. Gates has ordered an additional 3,200 Marines to Afghanistan to help fill the gap, which will bring the total US presence to 29,000 soldiers, about half of them under NATO command. There are about 44,000 total NATO forces in Afghanistan. NATO has requested 7,500 more soldiers to fend off the resilent Taliban.

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tonny from belgiumMar 31st, 2008 - 15:58:31

SP4 are you now telling you 21 spying agencies have it all wrong ?What kind of absurd and raving idiot are you ,to say such thing about your own country .Debunked by...let me guess....Bolton ?Or perhaps 22 other ultra secret intelligence agencies your country has nut known only to you ?
You(re a waste of our intelligence here,please go back to kindergarten and start it all over .You're an embarrassment to the average american by the mind boggling proportions of your stupidity.

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SP4: The same 21 who said there...Mar 31st, 2008 - 17:48:37

...were WMD's in Iraq?

Would that be the CIA????

How about the State dept???

The one's that said there were WMD's in Iraq?

The one's that missed the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait?

The one's who said Iraq never wanted to buy Yellow Cake from Niger, after they WENT there publicly in 1999????

The one's that greenlighted the N. Korean Nuke accord???

The one that said an Oregon lawyer's fingerprints were on bomb material and then admitted they screwed up? (FBI)

Are these the agencies you are lauding???

?????

Why yes, Tonny, I was being so silly!

Why would any totalitarian nation who relies on terrorists to carry out their goals, and has a working nuclear program ,want to build a nuclear weapon, after they publicly stated they intend continue to make one??

Why, after procuring numerous Uranium centrifuges, would they want to make weapons grade material???

Boy! I feel better! How about you? Tell me, what's it like in that gossamer world of yours? I see hippies....happy shiney people holding hands!

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JensMar 31st, 2008 - 21:14:50

Sure hope he takes someone with a brain along with him!

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shut your stupid hole PB.Mar 31st, 2008 - 23:56:25

''We talked to the Czechs and the Polls... Theyare independent, sovereign nations that Putin does not control.''

'Not in Putin's mind. '

Oh well. You seem to think that nitwits who believe something that is irrational should be taken seriously. I would have thought the contempt that you get thrown at you here would have convinced you that generally people believe otherwise.

'Bush simply came off as arrogant,'

Did you ask Putin this? No? I guess you do not know what you are talking about again, idiot.

'You seem as ignorant of what drives Putin as Bush is,'

I do not presume to speak for the man, as you do. Again, without having the slightest idea what you are talking about. The man is an ex-KGB agent who has routinely ordered people to their deaths as the new Russian czar. I would suspect he would laugh at the assertion that Bush somehow hurt his feelings.

'What the hell ELSE would he call him '

Retiring terrorist enabling autocratic thug?

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SP4: He's all that, and more.Apr 1st, 2008 - 01:47:31

This is Bush putting his fist up Putin's ass. Putin is bankrolling the Iranian nuclear program or at least trying to, and this is Bush coming up behind with a bargaining chip.

'...oh haell...if ol Puu tin is gonna get em nukes, we'll jes get ol Putin ABM's on his doorstep an see hoow he lahkes it, eh Karl?!'

Bush the dummy. God, he must just go to his office every night, do some lines, pour himself a Scotch and just laugh his as off!

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barbApr 1st, 2008 - 20:25:47

F- bush in the ear

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SP4: No BarbApr 1st, 2008 - 22:03:42

...but I'm sure if you prep'ed some cee gars, Monica style for him, he'd be really grateful.

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