REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT ON NATIONAL MISSILE DEFENSE
The Rose Garden
9:58 A.M. EST
THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. I've just
concluded a meeting of my National Security Council. We
reviewed what I discussed with my friend, President Vladimir Putin,
over the course of many meetings, many months. And that is
the need for America to move beyond the 1972 Anti Ballistic Missile
treaty.
Today, I have given formal notice to Russia, in accordance with the
treaty, that the United States of America is withdrawing from this
almost 30 year old treaty. I have concluded the ABM treaty
hinders our government's ability to develop ways to protect our people
from future terrorist or rogue state missile attacks.
The 1972 ABM treaty was signed by the United States and the Soviet
Union at a much different time, in a vastly different
world. One of the signatories, the Soviet Union, no longer
exists. And neither does the hostility that once led both
our countries to keep thousands of nuclear weapons on hair-trigger
alert, pointed at each other. The grim theory was that
neither side would launch a nuclear attack because it knew the other
would respond, thereby destroying both.
Today, as the events of September the 11th made all too clear, the
greatest threats to both our countries come not from each other, or
other big powers in the world, but from terrorists who strike without
warning, or rogue states who seek weapons of mass destruction.
We know that the terrorists, and some of those who support them,
seek the ability to deliver death and destruction to our doorstep via
missile. And we must have the freedom and the flexibility to
develop effective defenses against those attacks. Defending
the American people is my highest priority as Commander in Chief, and I
cannot and will not allow the United States to remain in a treaty that
prevents us from developing effective defenses.
At the same time, the United States and Russia have developed a
new, much more hopeful and constructive relationship. We are
moving to replace mutually assured destruction with mutual
cooperation. Beginning in Ljubljana, and continuing in
meetings in Genoa, Shanghai, Washington and Crawford, President Putin
and I developed common ground for a new strategic
relationship. Russia is in the midst of a transition to free
markets and democracy. We are committed to forging strong
economic ties between Russia and the United States, and new bonds
between Russia and our partners in NATO. NATO has made clear
its desire to identify and pursue opportunities for joint action at
20.
I look forward to visiting Moscow, to continue our discussions, as
we seek a formal way to express a new strategic relationship that will
last long beyond our individual administrations, providing a foundation
for peace for the years to come.
We're already working closely together as the world rallies in the
war against terrorism. I appreciate so much President
Putin's important advice and cooperation as we fight to dismantle the
al Qaeda network in Afghanistan. I appreciate his commitment
to reduce Russia's offensive nuclear weapons. I reiterate
our pledge to reduce our own nuclear arsenal between 1,700 and 2,200
operationally deployed strategic nuclear weapons. President
Putin and I have also agreed that my decision to withdraw from the
treaty will not, in any way, undermine our new relationship or Russian
security.
As President Putin said in Crawford, we are on the path to a
fundamentally different relationship. The Cold War is long
gone. Today we leave behind one of its last vestiges.
But this is not a day for looking back. This is a day
for looking forward with hope, and anticipation of greater prosperity
and peace for Russians, for Americans and for the entire world.