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Politics : Stockman Scott's Political Debate Porch -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: stockman_scott who wrote (53711)	8/20/2004 1:55:54 PM
From: abuelita	Respond to of 89467

s2- thanks for posting that. i had missed it. and some observers even suggest that Canada might be forced eventually to become part of a greater American transnational space. i believe most canadians will resist that eventuality just as the majority are opposed to participating in america's missile-defence plan. this from today's globe: U.S. planning space weapons, Russian envoy says By JEFF SALLOT Friday, August 20, 2004 - Page A4 OTTAWA -- Canadian politicians are badly mistaken if they believe Washington's plans to defend North America from ballistic missiles will not inevitably lead to weapons in space, Russia's ambassador in Ottawa says. Georgiy Mamedov, who was Moscow's chief arms-control negotiator before his posting to Canada last year, said he has received briefings by Pentagon officials that make it clear the current ballistic missile-defence program ultimately involves space weapons. Prime Minister Paul Martin and other Liberal ministers have said repeatedly that Canada opposes weapons in space, but they also say they are leaving the door open for the Canadian Forces to collaborate with the United States on a ballistic missile-defence system. The Liberals note that the initial deployment of the U.S. system involves only land-based interceptor rockets at sites in Alaska and California. But the goal for the U.S. proponents of the system, Mr. Mamedov said, is to put weapons into orbit around the Earth to shoot down ballistic missiles shortly after launch, a capability that might lead Pentagon war planners to believe they could launch a pre-emptive nuclear strike against a future adversary. The ambassador said his message to Canadians is to "think about what you are doing. Don't hide your face in the sand. It is a detailed plan" that could destabilize global security and force Russia and China to enter a new arms race to maintain the integrity of their own nuclear deterrence forces. The Russian Foreign Ministry publicly chided Denmark recently for allowing the United States to install new radar systems at a base at Thule, Greenland, that will be used as part of the warning system for ballistic missile defence. The program "has certain potential for diminishing Russia's security," Moscow said in a communiqué last week. Moscow has been trying to make the same point with Ottawa in quiet, diplomatic ways, Mr. Mamedov said, but he agreed to discuss the issue in an interview with The Globe and Mail this week before the Martin government makes a final decision on a partnership with the Pentagon on missile defence. "We are not entirely happy that Canada is about to join [U.S.] national missile defence," he said. Russia is not threatening Canada in any way, the ambassador said. "Canadians should decide for themselves what is in their own best interests on security issues." But he does not think there has been a very well-informed public debate of the implications of the issue. Two weeks ago, Defence Minister Bill Graham announced that Ottawa and Washington had agreed to allow the Canada-U.S. North American Aerospace Defence Command to transmit radar and satellite monitoring data to the American military force that will operate the ballistic missile-defence system. Mr. Graham said this amendment to the NORAD agreement did not represent acceptance of the U.S. invitation to join the missile-defence plan. "We're keeping all options open," he said. It would be a mistake for Canada to go any further than it has in co-operation with the U.S., Mr. Mamedov said. "It's a dumb thing and a dangerous thing." He said when he was trying to renegotiate an anti-ballistic missile treaty with U.S. President George W. Bush's administration, Pentagon strategists laid out for him the way the ballistic missile-defence system would grow as new technologies are perfected. "The Americans said, 'Yes, there will be weapons in space.' " The press attaché at the U.S. embassy in Ottawa said yesterday that there is no certainty Washington would put weapons into space. "The United States has made no decision to deploy space-based interceptors as part of the missile-defence program, although we are conducting research and development activities in this area," Beth Poisson said.