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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: calgal who wrote (202210)	11/13/2001 11:18:25 AM
From: calgal	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769670

jewishworldreview.com

To: calgal who wrote (202210)	11/13/2001 11:19:16 AM
From: goldworldnet	Respond to of 769670

Bush Says He Will Reduce Nuke Arms Monday November 12 7:42 PM ET By RON FOURNIER, AP White House Correspondent WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush said Monday he will slash U.S. nuclear weapons to ``substantially lower'' levels even if Russian President Vladimir Putin refuses to respond with similar cuts. The two leaders open three days of talks Tuesday. Bush said he and Putin were on the verge of forging a relationship that ``will outlive our presidencies.'' In an interview with Russian journalists, the president said he would urge the 19-member NATO military alliance to build ties with Russia that go ``beyond the current relationship.'' The president suggested he still has differences with Putin over the U.S. missile defense program, which will soon violate the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty unless the pact is scrapped or amended. Putin has signaled that he is ready to agree to a formula that will allow the United States go ahead with tests related to missile defense as long as Bush preserves the treaty. ``The ABM treaty is outdated because it will prevent the United States from researching and developing weapons systems that will really reflect the true threats of the 21st century,'' Bush said, slumping comfortably in a Roosevelt Room chair across the hall from the Oval Office. ``The big threat for us and for the Russians is not each other, but somebody developing weapons of mass destruction.'' Bush's opposition to the ABM, as well as his pledge to reduce the U.S. nuclear cache regardless of Russia's plans, date to the early days of the 2000 presidential campaign. But coming as Putin arrived in the United States for three days of meetings, the remarks laid the groundwork for what aides said could be a remarkable session. Though they are playing down the chances for a breakthrough on the ABM, senior administration officials said Monday it is likely that the pair will reach an accommodation on the issue - if not full agreement - before Putin leaves Bush's Texas ranch on Thursday. Bush said one thing is certain: He will announce his numerical goals for reducing U.S. nuclear stockpiles. ``I'll have a number that I will share with him, and it's going to be substantially lower than today's weaponry, and I presume he'll have a number he'll share with me. The point is, what we don't need is the endless hours of arms control discussions,'' Bush said. ``It's a new day when two new leaders step forward and say this is best for stability in the world.'' Russia, no longer able to afford a Cold War nuclear stockpile, has proposed new limits on U.S. and Russian stockpiles of not more than 2,000 long-range warheads for each country, down from a current total of about 6,000 each. Bush advisers said the president has considered a range of 1,750 to 2,250 warheads apiece. A senior U.S. official said last week Bush's range dipped below 2,000. Bush noted that he promised in the campaign to ``reduce our weaponry to a level commensurate with keeping the peace but lower enough to say to the world that the Cold War is over. And there will be a specific range'' announced Tuesday, the president said. ``Perhaps (Putin) will say the same thing. Regardless of whether he were to or not, I'm going to reduce our weapons,'' Bush said. ``It is the right thing for America to do.'' Bush said the leaders will sign a communique and complete several agreements including: -Bush's push to repeal the 1974 Jackson-Vanik amendment, which made trade concessions contingent on Russia's human rights performance. -New incentives for investment in Russia. ``To the extent that Russia makes wise choices internally ... I am absolutely confident that the Russian people will benefit through economic vitality and growth,'' Bush said. He added that the Russian people ``ought to be grateful'' for Putin's reforms. -An initiative calling for a free press in Russia. -A pledge to crack down on nonproliferation of biological weapons material. Senior officials said they expect Bush and Putin to join against Islamic violence in Central Asia, a threat to the security of Russia and former Soviet republics. Putin endeared himself to Bush, and won breathing room on Russia's violent crackdown against rebels in the breakaway Russian region Chechnya, by quickly offering a wide range of assistance in the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan. Putin has suggested his nation, the world's second-largest oil producer, will offer to help ensure the United States has a supply of energy in the event that war disrupts Middle East sources. On the sticky ABM issue, officials said it was possible that Bush and Putin may agree to disagree. That would mean that Bush would be forced to announce, as early as January, that he is pulling out of the treaty with assurances from Putin that the action would not hurt U.S.-Russian relations. Other advisers said Putin and Bush are more likely to find enough flexibility in the ABM to allow missile-defense tests and research in the short term, pushing decisions on tougher issues down the road a year or more. In the interview, Bush said he would urge NATO to work more closely with Russia. ``My judgment is that it will help provide additional stability in Europe when Russia has evolved a unique and different relationship with NATO and our country,'' the president said. Bush repeatedly called Russia a friend of the United States, even comparing the relationship to the special U.S.-British alliance. ``We don't agree on every issue'' but remain closely bound, Bush said of Britain. ``That's where we're headed with our relationship with Russia.'' dailynews.yahoo.com * * *