For nearly three decades, Mr. Fenton inspected radiological equipment, developed safety procedures, drew up shielding plans for X-ray rooms and taught other professionals.
Leaders of the Atlantic alliance clashed over President Bush's challenge to three decades of conventional wisdom on European security, with the heads of France and Germany contradicting Mr. Bush's declaration that there was a "new receptivity" to his missile shield plan.
Saying the shield plan had set off a debate in Europe on whether the continent needed it, he said, "Russia is ready to take part in these discussions at all levels and in any format".
Mr. Obama, in a major national security reversal, scuttled his predecessor's missile-shield plan to focus instead on protecting Israel and Europe against short- and medium-range Iranian missiles.
Turkey's decision to participate in the NATO missile shield plan was notable partly because Turkey, in a friendly gesture to Iran, had sought in the past year to help mediate the conflict between Iran and the West over Iran's nuclear program.
However, Washington has made it clear that it does not want a lengthy negotiating process, with Bush insisting Monday that if the U.S. could not get a deal with Russia, it would push ahead with the missile shield plan anyway.
"I don't think it's fair to say that the system that is designed for a specific purpose is flawed because it doesn't accomplish something that it is not designed to do," Mr. Feith said in a news conference after consultations with Russian military leaders who criticized the shield plan.
It is appealing a decision by the Kansas insurance commissioner that threatens to block its acquisition of the Kansas Blue Cross/Blue Shield plan.
But American and NATO military officials have in the past gone out of their way to make clear that the missile shield plan was designed to deter Iran.
He said resisting the "dangerous folly" of the Bush missile shield plan was "more important than keeping this prime minister in 10 Downing Street".
The diplomat, John Rood, under secretary of state for arms control and international security, said that talks in Moscow this week had failed to narrow differences between Russia and the United States on the missile shield plan and suggested that Russia was pausing to take stock of the Obama team.
