1. Welcome for US missile delay
September 2, 2000

US President Bill Clinton's decision to delay the development of an anti-missile defence shield has been welcomed by Russia and China.

But his announcement elicited a sharp rebuke from one of the two men contesting the November US presidential election.

Republican Party candidate George W Bush said the postponement was further evidence of Mr Clinton's failed leadership, and said he would want to deploy the missile system at the earliest possible date.

His Democratic Party rival, Vice-President Al Gore, welcomed the postponement.

Mr Clinton's decision delays by at least a year the development of the national missile defence system (NMD).

Under the $60bn scheme, a shield would be set up to protect the US from attack by detecting incoming nuclear devices and then launching missiles to knock them out in space.

Praise from Putin

Mr Clinton's move was seen in Russia as a "well thought-out and responsible step," Russian President Vladimir Putin said, adding that it would help strengthen stability worldwide.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry described the decision as "rational".

Russia has threatened to pull out of arms control negotiations if Washington goes ahead with the NMD.

Moscow argues that the NMD contravenes the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty, which bans the deployment of nationwide nuclear defence systems.

Speaking at Georgetown University on Friday, Mr Clinton said: "We should not move forward until we have absolute confidence that the system will work".

He instead ordered the Pentagon to pursue a "robust programme" to improve the effectiveness of the technology.

The system is designed to counter potential missile attacks from countries regarded by

Washington as "rogue states" such as North Korea or Iraq.

Rebuke from Bush Mr Bush, a strong advocate of the missile defence programme, condemned the postponement.

He is campaigning for a far more comprehensive system, to include US allies in Europe and Asia.

Vice-President Al Gore, for his part, said it was important to allow time to more thoroughly test the technologies.

The BBC's Geoff Phillips, in Washington, says that despite Mr Bush's support for early deployment, he might welcome the postponement as a means of highlighting one of the key differences between the parties - willingness to spend money on defence.

The issue is now likely to figure even higher up the agenda of differences between the two rival candidates, our correspondent says.

Mr Clinton's decision means that the Pentagon's 2005 target date for having an initial, limited means of defending the US against ballistic missile attack has been scrapped.

Mr Clinton said the NMD technology was promising but the system as a whole was not yet proven.

The failure of a test on the system in July, when one missile failed to intercept another over the Pacific Ocean, is likely to have influenced Mr Clinton's decision.

The US president said he would not allow the Pentagon to award contracts to begin building a new high-powered radar in the Aleutian Islands.

He also said the US would now have more time to resolve differences with its Nato allies, who fear the scheme could prompt a new arms race.

BBC News

The decision of the United States to continue testing and development of a limited National Missile Defence system, while reserving judgment on eventual deployment, appears to be a prudent course of action that balances the many factors involved in this issue.

At every stage, the United States has consulted extensively at NATO about its assessment of ballistic missile threats, the options it is considering for a National Missile Defence system, and the implications for arms control and nuclear deterrence.

These are complex issues and I believe all NATO Allies have benefitted from these exchanges. I know the United States intends to continue with such consultations in the future and I welcome that commitment to maintaining an open and constructive dialogue within NATO.