Iran recently tested nine short and medium range missiles in a spectacular stunt aimed at keeping the price of oil high and warning Western powers to stay out. The Iranian test underscores the need for a larger national missile defense system for the U.S. and her allies.
Yet, as the Iranian Shahab missiles rose into the air, the leading democratic candidate Barack Obama refused to talk missile defense with Polish leaders. Poland, like some many U.S. allies around the world, is anxious to obtain a defense against long range missiles.
Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski said that Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain would carry out the Bush administration’s missile defense plans in Poland if he were elected.
Sikorski said that McCain expressed his support for Poland’s demand for security guarantees.
“The support of such a major figure and a well-known strategist as Senator McCain for a deal that enhances both countries’ security is a useful contribution,” he said.
But Sikorski said he received no such assurances from Democratic candidate Sen. Obama. Though the two spoke by phone, Sikorski said he avoided discussing missile defense, the most urgent issue in Polish-American relations.
The issue of a missile defense system is a major feature of both political campaigns. McCain is a supporter of missile defense and has made it clear that he will improve on the now very skimpy U.S. national system. McCain, an ex-Navy pilot, supports the Navy Aegis anti-missile system and more importantly, he understands how such systems operate.
In contrast, Sen. Obama has made it very clear in speech after speech that he opposes missile defense and will cut it immediately upon reaching office.
“I will cut tens of billions of dollars in wasteful spending. I will cut investments in unproven missile defense systems. I will not weaponize space. I will slow our development of future combat systems,” stated Obama in a major speech on U.S. national security.
Global events, however, are overtaking the obsolete position so often pushed by missile defense opponents such as Obama. The Iranian tests are but one of many long range missile systems being developed by nations hostile to the U.S.
The missile launches from Tehran come only a year after North Korea attempted to launch its long range Tae Po Dong missile. The Tae Po Dong is capable of reaching the U.S. and it demonstrated that capability in 1998 when it flew over Japan and landed off the coast of Alaska.
The U.S. missile defense system itself has improved to the point where it is now providing coverage for most of the Western states, with a limited number of interceptors placed in Alaska and California.
Events on board the Navy missile cruiser USS Lake Erie also illustrate how effective and tested the system is. The Lake Erie has a double digit string of successful intercepts including the destruction of a satellite traveling at 18,000 miles an hour.
Events inside the capitols of U.S. allies also illustrate how badly Obama is out of sync with the world. Japan is actively participating in the development of missile defense systems with America, providing advanced technology and funding. Australia has expressed an interest in joining the program.
In Europe, the U.S. and the Czech Republic signed a deal involving the other major part of the proposed U.S. system. The plan calls for a tracking radar in the Czech Republic and 10 interceptor missiles based in Poland.
The former Warsaw pact nations are taking this action at the risk of irritating their giant neighbor to the east, Russia. Yet, they are taking this risk because they understand the threat to them and to Europe without a missile defense in place.
Other nations are seeking missile shields. For example, France has announced plans to develop anti-missile systems and Israel is actively pursuing its Arrow joint missile defense program with the U.S.
Even the Russians understand the need for a missile defense. Moscow has announced plans to upgrade its own missile defense systems and is seeking to deploy the S-400, a new missile designed specifically to defend against incoming warheads.
The lessons learned from the first Gulf war are not lost on rational military thinkers around the globe. When the sirens sounded over Tel Aviv, warning of incoming SCUD missiles from Iraq, the view that missile defense was unnecessary vaporized in an instant.
It was only due to the valiant efforts of a few that the U.S. even had the Patriot system available to provide some semblance of defense over Israel and Saudi Arabia. Those few were able to modify the Patriot quickly despite years of political shackles and restrictions placed on them by liberal politicians and narrow-minded opponents.
Even Saddam Hussein understood the importance of missile programs. Saddam continued to develop long range missiles in violation of U.N. mandates right up to the 2003 invasion, knowing full well that the opponents of a missile defense would leave America and our allies vulnerable against an attack.
There is no technical, diplomatic or military reason not to deploy such a system. The need to defend America and our allies is urgent and clearly understood around the globe. Yet, what is understood in Pyongyang, Tehran, Warsaw, Prague, Tokyo, Sydney, Paris, Moscow, Riyadh, Tel Aviv and Baghdad is lost on Obama.
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