Ronald Asmus on Healing Transatlantic Relations Through Missile Defense
The creation of a legitimate US missile defense system requires a NATO framework, bipartisan support within the US, and Russian participation, argues Ronald Asmus of the German Marshall Fund. The Atlantic Initiative Advisory Board member sees danger of a new division into “Old” and “New” Europe unless these key elements are resolved. While influential US allies Angela Merkel and Jaap de Hoop Scheffer are in favor of the missile defense in general, their support for the Bush Administration’s plan is currently tempered by skepticism on bilateral agreements between the US and the Central European countries. Asmus writes that there should be no dispute over the necessity of missile defense, regardless of current difficulties.
