Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Eric Edelman Holds a Defense Department News Briefing On Missile Defense

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Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Eric Edelman Holds a Defense Department News Briefing On Missile Defense

UNDERSECRETARY EDELMAN HOLDS A DEFENSE DEPARTMENT NEWS BRIEFING ON MISSILE DEFENSE

APRIL 3, 2007

SPEAKERS: UNDERSECRETARY OF DEFENSE FOR POLICY ERIC EDELMAN

DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF DEFENSE FOR PUBLIC AFFAIRS BRYAN WHITMAN

[*] (JOINED IN PROGRESS) WHITMAN: Ambassador Eric Edelman is the undersecretary of defense for policy. He's here to talk to you about some of the policy efforts that have been going in to the detailed discussions with our allies in Europe and with respect to missile defense. And he's just recently returned from the region and has offered to share his thoughts and the direction in which the department is moving.

So with that, sir, let me turn it over to you.

EDELMAN: Thanks, Bryan.

Good afternoon. Nice to see all of you.

As I think most of you know, I was in Europe last week to continue series of consultations that have actually been ongoing for some number of months about our plans to potentially field U.S. missile defenses in Europe in a third site, with interceptors perhaps based in Poland and an X-band radar in the Czech Republic.

This would be in addition, of course, to the two sites that we currently have, at Fort Greely in Alaska and at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

I went to Europe, actually, in the fall, along with General Obering of the Missile Defense Agency, to do a briefing for the North Atlantic Council and then the NATO-Russia Council back in mid- November.

We've had subsequent efforts to brief the council; General Obering was there a few weeks ago. I met informally with the North Atlantic Council perm reps three weeks ago en route to my trip to Afghanistan. But I've also met periodically with officials in other European capitals, particularly London and Paris, before last week going on to Berlin and Prague to meet with officials there.

These discussions, I think, are part of a broader set of consultations that we have held. In addition to my efforts, Assistant Secretary of State Dan Fried was in Poland two weeks ago.

Assistant Secretary o...

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