Earlier this month, Missile Defense Agency director Lt. Gen. Patrick O’Reilly said the Obama administration was considering alternatives to missile defense shields in Poland and the Czech Republic. Last week, another senior Defense Department official echoed the claim.
Assistant Secretary of Defense Alexander Vershbow said, “The site in Poland and the radar in the Czech Republic are among the options that are being considered, together with other options that might be able to perform the mission as well.” (Source)
Russia opposes the bases, claiming they would be a threat to its national security, while we maintain the purpose of the bases is to protect the region from Iranian missile attacks. President Barack Obama has been ambivalent about the agreements, made while George Bush was still in office. The agreements have not been ratified by either country’s parliament.
The Senate recently passed a resolution supporting our agreements with Poland and the Czech Republic to build missile defense shields in those countries. The fate of the plans remains unknown as Obama attempts to “reset” relations with the former Soviet Union. We’ve already seen where his priorities lay. With a proposed missile defense budget cut of $1.4 billion, the planned bases are moving down the priority list, while “resetting” relations with Russia claims the top spot.
In an unfortunate turn of events, the head of the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) said the Pentagon is considering “alternatives” to missile defense shields in Poland and the Czech Republic. (Source)
Our president is set to renege on agreements signed last year by the U.S. and those countries to provide protection for the region against Iranian missile attacks. The two countries’ parliaments have not ratified the agreements, however, and this fact gives Obama enough wiggle room to falter on the missile shield plans. MDA’s Lt. Gen. Patrick O’Reilly said the U.S., Poland, and the Czech Republic will work “very closely” to change the plans.
Obama wants to appease Russia, which claims the radar system and interceptors are a threat to its national security. What would the U.S. get in return for canceling the plans? Among other things, Russia has agreed to reduce its stockpile of old weapons but so far has not agreed to help the U.S. deal with Iran.
Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation’s Chris Hellman plays hard politics and doesn’t mince words about his view of people who advocate strong missile defense:
“Missile defense has always been an issue for a small cadre of ultraconservative, ultraparanoid people who see the threat of ballistic missiles from places like Iran as a real threat to US security interests.”
As we’ve said many times, Iran may not be a “real threat” to the U.S directly, but if not contained, the rogue state will be. Iran most certainly is a “real threat” to our ally Israel. But the president is more interested in a “reset” between our country and the former Soviet Union, who will benefit the most from any agreement reached.
The Airborne Laser (ABL) aircraft successfully competed its first two tracking tests against boosting missile targets over the Pacific Ocean on June 6 and June 13, the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) announced. From the release:
“These tests mark the first time ABL has demonstrated a complete low-power engagement sequence against a boosting target, in this case a ground-launched Terrier-Lynx missile. The missile was launched from San Nicolas Island , located in the Naval Air Warfare Center-Weapons Division Sea Range, off the central California coast.”
The ABL is part of the MDA’s plan to stop ballistic missiles in the ascent phase.
Earlier this week, North Korea threatened to go to war if any country shot down its planned communications satellite launch. A South Korean source reports the launch would take place between April 4 and 8. It doesn’t matter whether North Korea has the means to back up the threat. The point is this: North Korea is hostile, assertive, and willing to defy the U.N., the United States, and the world.
“North Korea claims it’s merely preparing to send a satellite into space. But U.S. and South Korea officials, an Agence France-Presse dispatch underscores, contend the ‘real purpose is to test a missile which could theoretically reach the state of Alaska.’
“On Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs didn’t radiate Adm. Keating’s confidence. President Obama, Gibbs said, is going to weigh various factors in deciding whether to keep developing a missile-defense system, ‘including whether or not the system worked.’…In fact, Heritage missile-defense expert Baker Spring says, the Missile Defense Agency’s field tests put the success rate for ‘hit-to-kill’ technology at roughly 80 percent. MDA interceptors shot down target missiles in 38 of 47 attempts since 2001.”
Perhaps if North Korea successfully launches a missile capable of reaching the U.S., the Obama administration would make missile defense a top priority. As Heritage national security expert James Jay Carafano says, abandoning missile defense at this point would make us look weak and inept. Appearing weak in the face of a growing nuclear threat is no way to keep the homeland or the world safe.
While we work, play, and sleep, the enemy is stockpiling an arsenal for our demise. Countries like North Korea, Iran, and Russia already have or will soon have the capability to kill potentially millions of Americans. We must continue to develop and strengthen our missile defense systems.
Coming this month is a high-definition documentary titled, “33 Minutes: Protecting America in the New Missile Age,” which explains the history of missile defense, the present global nuclear threat, and what the U.S. must do to protect itself and the world. This film will serve as a wake-up call to complacency and apathy. Prepare to be angry, shocked, enlightened, and inspired. While many countries in the world may be against us, we’ve always counted on the tenacity of freedom-loving people to remind our leaders of the constitutional mandate to protect and defend.
In the meantime, visit our YouTube Channel, where you can watch a two-minute trailer for the documentary (embeded above) as well as short clips featuring Heritage Foundation experts, Lt. General Henry Obering of the Missile Defense Agency, and others.
The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) has awarded Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne a $12 million contract to begin designing, building, integrating, and testing a prototype Divert and Attitude Control System (DACS) for supplying power to kinetic vehicles on missile interceptors. (Source)
“The Pathfinder DACS will use existing Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne propulsion system technology, which will significantly lower development risk, cost and time,” says Pratt and Whitney. The prototype will be tested sometime in mid-2010; hover tests will occur in early 2011.
DACS is part of the Multiple Kill Vehicle program designed to intercept and destroy multiple ballistic missiles. The ability to destroy intercontinental, warhead-equipped ballistic missiles is crucial.
Earlier this month, Missile Defense Agency director Lt. Gen. Patrick O’Reilly said the Obama administration was considering alternatives to missile defense shields in Poland and the Czech Republic. Last week, another senior Defense Department official echoed the claim.
In an unfortunate turn of events, the head of the 
The Airborne Laser (ABL) aircraft successfully competed its first two tracking tests against boosting missile targets over the Pacific Ocean on June 6 and June 13, the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) announced. 
“North Korea claims it’s merely preparing to send a satellite into space. But U.S. and South Korea officials, an Agence France-Presse dispatch underscores, contend the ‘real purpose is to test a missile which could theoretically reach the state of Alaska.’