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

To: gao seng who wrote (225897)	2/6/2002 11:02:10 PM
From: gao seng	Respond to of 769670

Straw lines up behind US on missile defence By Anton La Guardia, Diplomatic Editor (Filed: 07/02/2002) JACK STRAW, the Foreign Secretary, tried to close the growing diplomatic gap with America last night by giving his wholehearted support for missile defence and defending Washington from accusations that it is "unilateralist". Britain has been wary of America's plans to build an anti-missile shield, having long regarded the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty as the bulwark of international arms control. But last night the Foreign Secretary brushed away the fears in many European capitals that America's decision to abandon the treaty would fuel a new arms race. He said a viable defence against missiles could "give pause to those tempted down the path of proliferation even before they begin". In a speech to the Centre for Defence Studies at King's College, London, Mr Straw said: "It is possible that Missile Defence may pave the way for greater progress on disarmament, not an arms race. Missile defence is not an alternative to the wider non-proliferation effort, but could be part of it." Mr Straw's words could go some way to easing growing tension between Britain and America over the direction of the "war against terrorism". The Foreign Secretary has angered Washington in recent weeks by questioning the treatment of prisoners taken from Afghanistan to the US detention centre at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. Mr Straw also appeared to dismiss President Bush's State of the Union address, in which he denounced the "axis of evil" of Iraq, Iran and North Korea as mere politicking before US mid-term elections. Last night he criticised those who "caricature the US position on arms control as unilateralist" and supported the position of John Bolton, US under-secretary of state and one of the more hawkish members of the Bush administration, who rejected a draft protocol on enforcing the Biological Weapons Convention. But there remain clear differences between Britain and America over arms control. In his speech, Mr Straw restated Britain's commitment to the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, which America has not ratified. The Foreign Secretary mentioned the danger posed by Iraq, and missile tests carried out by North Korea, but he omitted any mention of Iran, the third country in the "axis of evil". Mr Straw cited the risks posed by India and Pakistan which "were deservedly condemned in 1998 when they carried out nuclear tests", he said. Britain is giving strong backing to an effort to establish an international "code of conduct" against the proliferation of ballistic missiles. Officials from about 25 countries will meet in Paris today to discuss ways preventing countries from gaining long-range missiles. telegraph.co.uk