WASHINGTON — The Air Force general who runs the Pentagon’s missile defense projects said Wednesday that American interests would be “severely hurt” if President- elect Barack Obama decided to halt plans developed by the Bush administration to install missile interceptors in Eastern Europe.
Lt. Gen. Henry A. Obering III, director of the Missile Defense Agency, told reporters that he is awaiting word from members of Obama’s transition team on their interest in receiving briefings.
Obama has said it would be prudent to “explore the possibility of deploying missile defense systems in Europe,” in light of what he called active efforts by Iran to develop ballistic missiles as well as nuclear weapons. But he also has expressed some skepticism about the technical capability of U.S. missile defenses.
