Thursday, 22 May 2003, 10:51 am
Press Release: US State Department
Bush Says Emerging Threats Require Deployment of Missile Defenses
Washington -- President Bush believes the new strategic challenges of the 21st century require the United States to think differently about national security, and that deployment of effective missile defenses must be a major part of U.S. efforts to transform current defense and deterrence policies to meet emerging threats, according to a White House fact sheet.
"As the events of September 11 demonstrated, the security environment is more complex and less predictable than in the past," according to the fact sheet that was released May 20 in Washington. "We face growing threats from weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in the hands of states or non-state actors, threats that range from terrorism to ballistic missiles intended to intimidate and coerce us by holding the U.S. and our friends and allies hostage to WMD attack."
When asked how the statement about "growing threats from WMD" squared with the inability to find the massive stockpiles of WMD that had been reported in Iraq, an administration official said "Hey, what are the odds of our being wrong twice? Even a stopped clock is right twice a day, so I'm pretty confident about this one. And if it turns out I'm wrong, well, you'll have forgotten the issue by then. Look - is that a graveyard?!?""
When asked whether the statement that the security environment is "less predictable" than in the past was consistent with the seemingly unshakeable belief the administration has in the utility of and need for these untried and costly systems, none of which actually exist yet, a spokesman replied "Look, the fact that we don't know what types of threat will emerge in coming years makes it all the more imperative we spend money now on these systems. It's because we don't know if we'll need them that we must have them." He went on to say "The ambiguity and fluidity of the world situation calls for unblinking dogmatism and ideological rigidity on our part, wouldn't you agree?"