WASHINGTON (JTA) — The United States is abandoning its plan to install a missile-defense shield for Eastern Europe.
President Obama announced Thursday that the plan is being scrapped for a redesigned defensive system that will be cheaper, quicker and more effective against the threat of missiles from Iran, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The decision to drop the plan for an Eastern European shield, which was developed by the Bush administration, comes amid a change in the U.S. perception of the Iranian threat.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates said intelligence experts have warned that Iran is developing short- and medium-range missiles "more rapidly than previously projected."
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