US General Says Russian Radar A Piece of Worthless Shit, Like Everything Else Russian

http://www.newsmax.com/international/russia_us_missile_defense/2007/09/18/33696.html

U.S. General Says Russian Radar Too Old

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

GABALA, Azerbaijan -- A Russian-operated radar station that Moscow is

offering to share to counter potential missile threats from nations

including Iran has technology that is too old to be useful, a top U.S.

general said Tuesday after a visit.

Experts visited the Gabala radar station in Azerbaijan amid tensions over

U.S. plans to install elements of a missile defense system in Poland and the

Czech Republic, former Soviet satellites that are now members of NATO.

Brig. Gen. Patrick O'Reilly, deputy director of the U.S. Missile Defense

Agency, said the experts were interested in what the Russian-leased radar

station could offer but seemed to indicate it was too old for the purpose of

defending against a potential threat from Iran _ Washington's main argument

for building the European system.

"Our impression here was that it is a radar that has performed the function

it was designed to by the Russians back in the '80s and has been performing

since and we are evaluating how that would fit in with a mutually beneficial

cooperative way ahead," O'Reilly told reporters after the visit.

Russia fears that the U.S. anti-missile efforts are aimed at weakening their

country and upsetting the strategic balance. They have dismissed U.S.

arguments that the installations are intended to counter a potential threat

from Iran.

President Vladimir Putin surprised President Bush in June with an offer to

share the towering Gabala station and a second radar under construction in

southern Russia.

The Bush administration welcomed the proposal but refused Russia's demand

that it suspend plans for sites in Europe during talks with Moscow.

Tuesday's meeting came after two rounds of talks that brought no signs of

progress in bridging the rift. The issue is among the most divisive in

strained relations between Moscow and Washington.

A top Russian military official voiced hope that Tuesday's visit would help

jump-start the talks with new ideas for cooperation.

"The work was fruitful, at least we heard words of gratitude from our

American colleagues, and the work that was done allowed us to switch from

discussions and briefings to the practical matters," said Maj. Gen.

Alexander Yakushin, first deputy chief of staff of Russia's Space Forces.

However, Yakushin earlier suggested Moscow still disagrees with Washington's

view of the potential threat from Iran.

While Washington estimates Iran could become capable of launching an

intercontinental missile by about 2015, Russia believes Iran is decades

away.

"The most important task now is to react adequately to threats that really

exist to the south (of Russia), and not future hypothetical threats of

2020-25," RIA-Novosti quoted Yakushin as saying.

Yakushin also emphasized that Russia wants the United States to halt all

moves toward installation of a radar in the Czech Republic and 10 missile

interceptors in Poland, RIA-Novosti reported.

The Bush administration is interested in the radars that Putin has offered,

but in addition to the system planned for Central Europe, not a substitute.

The Gabala radar is of a type that could not perform the same function as

the one planned for the Czech Republic.

The U.S.-built radar would track a missile after it had been detected by

other means. The missile defense system also would need other radars to

detect launches.

While the U.S. has some of those capabilities, the Gabala facility's

proximity to Iran _ just south of Azerbaijan _ could help identify missile

trajectories earlier.

O'Reilly said a meeting between U.S and Russian experts will be held in

Moscow on Oct. 10.