Sunday, February 01, 2009

AP, Washington, 31 January 2009 (excerpts) – Sen. Carl Levin, who chairs the Armed Services Committee, said Friday he believes the time is ripe for the U.S. to pursue a fresh partnership with Russia aimed at deterring Iranian missiles.
The Michigan Democrat said he has spoken with President Barack Obama’s advisers, including Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in a private conversation, and that he believes they are open to the idea. Levin said pushing for the cooperative effort would be among his top priorities this year on the committee, which helps to oversee the Pentagon’s $600 billion-plus annual budget.
“There is potential here for a real breakthrough in terms of our relationship with Russia” by focusing on building a capability that would intercept an Iranian missile, Levin told reporters at a Capitol Hill news conference.
Levin said a united front between the two countries could help deter Iran from pursuing a nuclear weapon.
“Russia clearly does not want that to happen, perhaps not as visibly or dramatically as we don’t want it to happen,” he added. “But nonetheless, it is not in Russia’s interest – they clearly know it – that Iran get a nuclear weapon.”
The U.S. has already tried to entice Russia’s cooperation on missile defense in Eastern Europe by casting the construction of interceptors in Poland and a tracking radar in the Czech Republic as protection for Moscow against an Iranian missile. But Russia remains opposed to the program, which it contends is aimed not at Iran but at its own massive nuclear arsenal.
Levin said he was interested to hear of a Russian news agency report earlier this week that Moscow might back off from its threat to deploy Iskander missiles near the Polish border.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates said in a congressional hearing this week that he’s tried talking to Russian officials about the issue and agrees “there’s some real opportunities here.” But, as Gates also pointed out, there remains much disagreement on just how much of a threat Iran poses.
“I think the Russians have an unrealistic view of the timeline when an Iranian missile with the range to attack much of Russia and much of Europe will be available,” Gates said.