Obama reaffirms long-range missile defenses in Europe

President Obama on Saturday reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to building a long-range missile defense system in Europe that likely will be opposed by Russia and might prompt Moscow's withdrawal from the arms treaty known as the New START.

In a letter to Senate leaders aimed at allaying concerns voiced by treaty opponents that the new arms treaty will constrain missile defenses, Mr. Obama said that "as long as I am president and as long as the Congress provides the necessary funding, the United States will continue to develop and deploy effective missile defenses to protect the United States, our deployed forces, and our allies and partners."

Significantly, Mr. Obama stated in the letter that the Pentagon is committed to all four phases of its European missile defenses.