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Pentagon advisor says U.S. should accelerate, not slow activation of European ABM sites

A Pentagon advisor and defense analyst believes it would be prudent for the U.S. to move forward with the activation of a European-based anti-ballistic missile (ABM) shield to counter the growing Iranian threat.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates recently announced that the U.S. might delay the activation of planned ABM sites in Poland and the Czech Republic. Russia strongly opposes the plan, and the Pentagon chief's move has been viewed as a way to ease Russian fears. Lt. Col. Bob Maginnis (USA-Ret.), who recently returned from a trip to the Middle East where he conferred with Israeli defense officials, says the Iranian threat must be confronted.

"I think we're only a couple of years away from a real possibility of them having the capability that could certainly jeopardize freedoms in Western Europe, if not in the United States," he says. "So I tend to be far more in favor of accelerating rather than slowing down this process."

But Maginnis does not want to be critical of Gate's decision to possibly delay activating the sites in Eastern Europe. "There are a host of things that ought to be going on here, but Gates is making a prudent decision based upon recommendations from his advisors and throughout the administration," he points out.

Defense Secretary Gates said last week there is a possibility that the missile sites in Poland and the Czech Republic would be built, but not activated until there is "definitive proof" of a missile threat from Iran.