NEWS TRANSCRIPT from the United States Department of DefenseDoD News Briefing
Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld
Friday, February 2, 2001
(Media availability en route to Munich, Germany)Q: Are you going to give the allies-- you know they are quite concerned about NMD [national missile defense] - we realize, of course, that the defense ministers understand a lot more than the ordinary person. Are you going to give people some assurances that you are not going to move, hastily or precipitously on NMD without close consultation or cooperation from the allies?
Rumsfeld: Well, yes indeed. I mean that's been what I've said previously when the subject's come up. It is what the president said and it is what Secretary Powell has said. There is no question but that we are interested in and intend to consult very closely with our allies. That is what allies do.
Q: What kind of questions do you anticipate from them? Are you prepared to give them any specifics about how you will proceed on the NMD decision-making?
Rumsfeld: We are working that through now back home but we are not yet at that stage. I had my first meeting earlier this week. It seems it is all a blur. I am trying to think when that was on the subject. And they are working through some things for me now. We are going to be meeting again. We are not in a position to talk specifics.
Q: You are going to make a speech, I assume, or talk.
Rumsfeld: A little talk - ten minutes maybe.
Q: Do you tend to outline to people what might happen if this is not done, if NMD is not done?
Rumsfeld: I am kind of old-fashioned, as everyone has been writing (laughter). I like to talk to people individually about things like this. When you consult and listen to them and hear what they have to say; I don't plan to make any pronouncements or anything like that --
Q: You have said pretty clearly that the danger is there and threat is there and isn't going to go away.
Rumsfeld: And it does not affect just us; it affects them every bit as much as it does us.
Q: How will you try to overcome their reservations about this and that seems to be across the board in Europe that NMD can start another arms race, it could increase tensions with the Russians, and you, yourself, have mentioned the concern that some Europeans are concerned about de-coupling of the United States from Europe.
Rumsfeld: As we would be. There ought not to be anything like that. And in my view there would not be and should not be. So I think that anything that ultimately is there has to be done in a way that people share risks and are able to feel that they are all in the same row boat and my impression is that that is perfectly manageable. You know, if you think about it, and we talk a lot about the risks of deployment and it kind of amuses me because if you think about it the issue of missile defense is an issue of a country that feels vulnerable, or countries plural, being able to reduce that vulnerability, that does not threaten anyone. It just doesn't. Russia has, over a period of time, suggested that they felt that it would create a concern for them, and they have expressed that in Europe and around the world. They know, and we know, and you know, that the systems that are being discussed are not in any way relevant to the Russians with their hundreds and thousands of things. We are talking about systems that are able to deal with handfuls of things, and it is, well, I want to be diplomatic now that I am back in government, but it is certainly not - it's off the mark to suggest anything to the contrary. That is to say, the idea that a missile defense system that is capable of dealing with handfuls of things is going to change in any way the interaction between the United States and Russia, with respect to ballistic missiles, is just not correct. And anyone who looks at the situation knows that.
Q: There is the little matter of the ABM [antiballistic missile] treaty which, obviously, I am telling you what you know already, however you have expressed your view about the treaty, but how are you talking to the Russians about this?
Rumsfeld: As has been said, a president has the responsibility to understand what the nature of threats are, and under his constitutional responsibility, help to defend his people against those threats. And to the extent that that requires, as it will, discussions with Russia, the president and Secretary Powell have indicated that you obviously would engage in those kinds of discussions.
Q: To try to modify the treaty or suggest --
Rumsfeld: I think that's an open question as to what you do, obviously, you need to talk with them. You would need to talk with them whether there was a treaty or not.
Q: In your view is it preferable to modify the treaty or to --
Rumsfeld: I am inclined not to get into that. Until you determine what it is you think you ought to do, and how it fits with respect to things like that. I mean there is little doubt in my mind but that if you were seeking a system that was the earliest to deploy, the most cost-effective, technically the best, you would very likely come up with something other than if you sat down and tried to design a system that would fit within a treaty that was written 25 years ago when technology was notably different when we were in a Cold War, when the nature of the world, the threats of the world were vastly different. That is really a Cold War thing to elevate that treaty, in my view, to elevate that treaty as something that is central to a relationship today. In those days we were worried and concerned, as we properly should have been during the Cold War, about the need on our side to have sufficient capability that we felt there was a stable deterrent, and that meant you had to have a lot of weapons and each side had to be rather certain that you could in fact do a great deal of damage were you to use those capabilities and that is simply not the concern today. They can't be concerned and we aren't concerned that Russia is poised to use those weapons against the United States. The Soviet Union is gone. Russia is a different country. That period is over in our life. Why don't we get over it?
Q: When you were secretary the first time, right?
Rumsfeld: No. No. You know what happened? I met with a minister of defense from another country the other day, and I am not going to tell you who it is and you are not going to say who it is, but during lunch one time he said - he was talking about something - he said, you know that was in your era. I looked at him and he laughed when he realized what he had said. And I said, "You're right, but I kind of think this is my era too." (Laughter).