clipped from: www.mail.com   
By BEN FELLER

President Bush said Tuesday that plans for a U.S.-led missile defense system in Europe are urgently needed to counter an emerging threat of attack by Iran.

"If (Iran) chooses to do so, and the international community does not take steps to prevent it, it is possible Iran could have this capability," Bush said. "And we need to take it seriously -- now."

Bush's latest warning about Iran's nuclear ambitions came in a broad defense of his security policies at the National Defense University and it came not long after Defense Secretary Robert Gates told a news conference in the Czech Republic that the administration might delay activating
the proposed missile defense sites until it has "definitive proof" of a missile threat from Iran.

In his speech here, Bush said intelligence estimates show that Iran could have the capability to strike the United States and many European allies by 2015.

"The need for missile defense in Europe is real, and I believe it's urgent," Bush said.