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CNN Live At Daybreak
Europeans Highly Skeptical of Bush's Star Wars Dream
Aired June 13, 2001 - 08:24 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
COLLEEN MCEDWARDS, CNN ANCHOR: I'm over by our international desk, busy as always overnight with President Bush at NATO headquarters in Belgium talking about his missile defense plan. Bush wants to throw out the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty that was signed by President Nixon, what, 30 years ago. But there is strong opposition from some of President Bush's European allies, many of them he's going to hear from today.
CNN's Christiane Amanpour takes a look at all of this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HELEN JOHN, PEACE CAMPAIGNER: Well, it's a big cop out.
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Shortly after we took these pictures, 63-year-old Helen John was sent to prison for three months. Her crime, cutting the wire fence, vandalizing this U.S. base in Northern England. The huge satellite dishes here would be used in the so-called star wars communications and tracking system.
JONES: We'd be guilty, with America, of bringing about an arms race in space and threatening the people of the world.
AMANPOUR: Helen John is a veteran of Britain's 1980s women's movement, which is gearing up again against President George W. Bush's missile defense plan.
(on camera): Campaigners believe that Britain could stop star wars by refusing American requests to upgrade these tracking stations. So far, Prime Minister Tony Blair hasn't said whether he would agree to such a request. He's also studiously avoided saying whether Britain actually supports the United States on its missile defense program.
(voice-over): President Bush's first trip to Europe is already drawing protests. Europeans don't want the U.S. to abandon the ABM Treaty; since 1972, the cornerstone of nuclear deterrent, for a shield even the U.S. admits may not be fully missile-proof.
CHARLES GRANT, CENTER FOR EUROPEAN REFORM: Some Europeans believe it is nuts, but the sensible ones in government know that if you just say to Mr. Bush, "You're nuts," it's not going to do very much to help anybody. So they will say, for example, "If you go ahead, please talk to the Russians. Please try and have, if not the ABM treaty, something similar to it."
AMANPOUR: But the administration's high profile diplomatic blitz in May failed to convince even European allies, much less Russia.
ALEXEJ ARBAKOV, RUSSIAN PARLIAMENT MEMBER: Clearly the need for a global ballistic missile defenses is not yet determined, it's not yet clear.
AMANPOUR: Most European leaders and analysts disagree with the U.S. threat assessment. They fear mass terrorism from a truck packed with explosives or a suitcase full of chemical and biological weapons rather than from some so-called rogue state firing intercontinental ballistic missiles.
While Europe gave a polite public reception to the travel missile shield salesman, they say they heard nothing to convince them to abandon 30 years of successful nuclear deterrents.
PASCAL BONIFACE, FRENCH INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS: One of the most important thing in Europe is to attend a new arms race in Asia. If and indeed it's launched and is (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
AMANPOUR: And Germany cautions the United States against going it alone.
KARL KAISER, GERMAN COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS: Because there are very few issues in this world in which the U.S. alone can really solve them. The U.S. needs allies and friends and others to deal globally with global issues.
AMANPOUR: Despite the deep skepticism, President Bush now appears to be speeding towards deployment, saying that some basic shield should be up in his first term.
Christiane Amanpour, CNN, at the Menwith Hill Base in Northern England.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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