Missile shield gains support across globe

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The White House yesterday announced that global opposition to President Bush's missile-defense plan largely has collapsed in the wake of the war against terrorism, causing a "sea change" of views even in nations such as Russia, which once opposed the plan.

"We had a lively national debate about missile defense for 20 years," said a senior administration official. "That more or less appears to be settled."

Responding to questions from The Washington Times, the official added: "There really has been a sea change."

To mark the milestone, the White House last night formally codified its quest for a global missile-defense system in a document known as National Security Policy Directive 23, releasing an unclassified version that spells out the president's vision.

"Hostile states, including those that sponsor terrorism, are investing large resources to develop and acquire ballistic missiles of increasing range and sophistication," the document stated. "The United States and our allies lack effective defenses against this threat."

To remedy that, the Bush administration is accelerating deployment of the first stages of a missile shield in Alaska that would be able by next year to intercept any missile fired from North Korea, officials said. But the shield eventually would be extended to encompass many nations, a large number of which are scrambling to sign up for protection.

"We've seen a real change with regard to Russia," said another administration official. "You can see in Russia now a desire to cooperate in the missile-defense area. They want to cooperate, and so there's been a fundamental shift now."

The official pointed out that when Mr. Bush first proposed scrapping the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty and replacing it with a missile shield, critics predicted a new arms race and a deterioration in U.S.-Russian relations. But the two nations have become closer and have agreed to slash their nuclear arsenals by two-thirds.

Canada, which opposed the war in Iraq, also has signaled interest in the missile shield. Poland's largest military contractor has pledged its technology, and Japan has demonstrated a desire to beef up research and development.