Cost a factor in giving up missile shield

WASHINGTON, Sept. 19 (UPI) -- President Barack Obama decided to abandon Bush administration plans for a U.S. missile shield in Eastern Europe partly to save money, analysts say.

The Wall Street Journal reported it had listened to a recording of a White House official explaining the decision Thursday to arms control analysts.

"A ground-based interceptor is generally about a $70 million-per-missile asset going after a $10 (million)-$15 million missile," the official said. "The trade is not a good one economically. It's not a good one from a military strategy position."

President George W. Bush planned to place interceptor missiles in Poland and radar in the Czech Republic. While the shield's goal was to stop potential threats from Iran and North Korea, the plan infuriated the Russian government.

There was widespread popular opposition among Poles and Czechs.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates, a holdover from the Bush administration, had a change of heart as well, the Journal said. He had doubts the shield would be effective against the kind of missiles Iran was actually likely to deploy.