Bob Schaffer: “reclaiming my time, that is something that of course our delegation knew, but I think it was reemphasized during this…”

“reclaiming my time, that is something that of course our delegation knew, but I think it was reemphasized during this visit, is that the Russians have been engaged in an incremental strategy over the years of deploying ground-based radar stations, missile interceptors, as well as a civil defense network designed to protect the capital city of Moscow. Now, this is really one of the weaknesses of the ABM Treaty that we are under, because we here in the United States, under that treaty, are restricted from constructing a missile defense system that is comprehensive in nature, that can protect the entire country. In Russia it is a very different story because the majority of the Russian people live in the capital city. In fact, the defense structure that they have established it is estimated can protect upwards of 70 percent of the Russian people. But the ABM Treaty only allows us to protect a point, a place. Would it be Washington, D.C., would it be New York, would it be Denver, would it be San Francisco, would it be L.A.? Imagine the political difficulty in deciding which part of the country we would defend in a similar way that the Russians are able to. It is a very perplexing question.”