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**Last Saturday, Israel commenced an air bombing attack on the Hamas-ruled Gaza strip. Riki Ellison, Chairman of the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance (MDAA), said the skirmish between the two is evidence that Israel needs a strong missile defense system.

“Israel’s lack of protection of its citizens and nearby cities from a continued year round and recent escalated rocket and missile fire from Hamas in Gaza brought upon the Israeli decision to go to war that has and will continue to kill and destroy people and property in the Gaza Strip,” he said.

Ellison added that the MDAA recently toured the area in Israel under assault and determined that the only missile defense system is an early warning system. (Missile Defense Advocacy)

**UPI reports that Russia is testing a new missile for the S-400 Triumf air defense system. If successful, the system may be the ” most formidable long-range anti-aircraft and anti-missile defense system in the world.” (UPI)

**We’ve blogged about President-Elect Barack Obama’s reticence to go forward with missile defense bases in Poland and the Czech Republic. Defense firms in Arizona are concerned that under Obama, their work will slow down. Defense contracts account for over $12 billion of income to the state. Under President George Bush, firms have seen business double. Of course, if the war in Iraq ends, Arizona and other states will see a slow down. But the U.S. should keep up its missile defense for the sake of national security, war or no war. (The Arizona Republic)

**Defense contractor Boeing has snagged a $397 million contract to continue developing the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense program. This system will use interceptor missiles to shoot down enemy missiles in mid-flight. (AP)

*The Pentagon takes the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) to task in a new 60-page study. The Institute for Defense Analyses carried out an independent study of the MDA to examine and make recommendations about long-term missions, roles, and structure.

The MDA is directed, among other things, to develop missile defense systems. But the MDA’s rapid development and deployment of the systems have come at the expense of planning and preparation, the Pentagon concludes. The report recommends the MDA re-focus on research. Download the report in PDF. (The Huffington Post)

*The AFP reported in September that the island nation of Taiwan would not deploy missiles capable of hitting Shanghai, China. This week the AFP reported that Taiwan plans to make up to 300 Hsiungfeng 2E cruise missiles. China lays claim to Taiwan, but it’s governed separately and has been since 1949. Should Taiwan decide to become independent, China most likely will threaten war. (AFP)

*Public Survey on Missile Defense – The Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance, formed after the September 11 terrorist attacks, has published a series of public survey results. These results are presented in Power Point and Word documents. To find out what Americans, Poles, and Czechs think about missile defense, visit the survey page.

*U.S. military sources reported that a fire occurring on May 23 at a nuclear facility burned undetected for five days. The fire, which resulted in $1.4 million worth of damage, was caused by a bad battery charger. (Herald Sun)

*The MDA’s General Henry Obering said he’s concerned about the ratification of the agreement between the U.S. and Poland to build a missile defense system in Poland. Finalized some months ago, the agreement must be approved by parliament. Democrats in Congress have threatened to withhold funding until the Polish parliament ratifies the agreement.

“If we get ratification by the end of this year,” Obering said, “we will still not be able to put an interceptor on the ground in Poland until 2012.” (AFP)

According to a survey by the Opinion Research Corporation, 87 percent of Americans believes the U.S. should have a missile defense system. Fifty-seven percent prefer missile defense over pre-emptive or diplomatic military actions when dealing with missiles carrying weapons of mass destruction.

Riki Ellison, President of the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance, said the “American Public support for missile defense is at the highest level ever recorded, and has shown the continual increase in the public’s awareness of the threat and their support for the United States to have missile defense to defend them from that threat since 2002, when the President and Congress made the decision to deploy missile defenses for our country.”

For more information, visit the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance’s web site.