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The four-phase plan would put land- and sea-based radars and interceptors in several European locations over the next decade. Gates is expected to meet Tuesday with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov, who said last month that the missile shield could undermine Russian nuclear deterrent forces. Moscow remains skeptical of U.S. insistence that the systems is not aimed at Russian missiles or that it could be used against Russia's security interests. Reflecting on the changes in U.S-Russia relations over his career, Gates suggested they have moved from what was once a fierce rivalry to a bureaucratic brotherhood. Now, he said, the U.S. and Russia have a common enemy
-- the battle to modernize their militaries amid rising costs for weapons and elusive contract deadlines that are never met. He said that while the two nations' interests will differ, they have learned one critical lesson from the past
-- to avoid the mistrust and lack of transparency that can trigger dangerous consequences. Acknowledging that Russia still has uncertainties about the defense shield, Gates told the young officers that both are committed to resolving the differences, and eventually collaborate, including on launch information, a data fusion center and conducting joint analysis. In other comments, Gates said the Pentagon needs to do more to streamline spending, and warned that additional budget cuts could force more reductions in the size of the U.S. military. He said another key way to save money would be for all of the armed services to buy more of their weapons jointly, including unmanned aircraft, which are in great demand by U.S. commanders around the world, including Iraq and Afghanistan.
[Associated
Press;
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