Rumsfeld discussed his ideas here with visiting NATO Secretary General George Robertson and German Defense Minister Rudolf Scharping, telling reporters afterwards he has decided it was no longer useful to make a distinction between "national" and "theater" missile defenses.

He said he was approaching missile defense "in a rational way by avoiding something that could create significant differentials in vulnerabilities" between the United States and its allies.

He said it was "every bit as important to us to be able to defend this piece of real estate, and our population in this location, as it is to defend our deployed forces, and to have our allies feel equally secure to the extent that's possible."

"So I've pretty much stopped using the words (national or theater), to be perfectly honest with you," he said.

It was unclear whether the change was more semantics than substance since Rumsfeld has offered few details on how the new administration plans to pursue missile defenses.

But President George W. Bush has sought to ease European concerns about a national missile defense system by speaking of the need to extend missile protection to the allies as well.

Rumsfeld in particular has pointed to European fears that a national missile defense system could foster US isolationism and lead to a decoupling of the trans-Atlantic alliance.

"I am one individual who feels very deeply about the importance of the trans-Atlantic relationship and the relationship between the United States and our NATO allies," Rumsfeld said at a Pentagon news conference with Robertson.

Robertson called missile defense "an important and common issue."

He said "the alliance has no intention of being divided or split in any way, and ... we are keen to get right down to the promised consultations on missile defense, on the how and the when rather than on the whether, which has been decided by the will of the American people."

The previous Democratic administration had emphasized the development of theater missile defenses, which have been designed to protect US troops deployed overseas, believing they were the most vulnerable to missile attack.

But mounting intelligence pointing to an increasing threat of long-range missiles in the hands of rogue states prompted former president Bill Clinton to swing behind development of a system capable of defending the United States against a limited attack.

"National" missile defenses are prohibited by the 1972 ABM treaty, but fewer restrictions apply to theater missile defense systems. Some land and sea-based theater defense systems under development by the United States could be used to protect country-sized areas.

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