‘How Missile Defence Could Heal Transatlantic Relations’

In this article, Ronald D. Asmus, executive director of the German Marshall Fund’s Transatlantic Center in Brussels, argues that historically, controversial initiatives such as the proposed US anti-missile defence system have often eventually served the cause of peace, rather than war.

“As before, Asmus contends “the debate is not only about the Iranian missile program, let alone the technical merits and flaws of the Bush defense shield that is supposed to counter it. Instead, it is primarily about the nature of the US-EU relationship.”

He goes on to argue that with the erosion of the non-proliferation regime, and with the MIddle East potentially on the brink of ‘nuclearisation’, there is in fact a strong case for a common missile defence shield for Europe and the US.

To implement it, US President Bush will have to gain bi-partisan support from the Democrats and link the programme to NATO. Neither will be easy, Asmus warns.