Missile Defense

            Having been heavily involved in previous years in the promotion of an adequate national defense, including in the promotion of an adequate missile defense, I am more concerned than ever that our missile posture is inadequate. There is the thinnest possible deployment of a so-called national missile defense, most notably involving the placement of ten ground-based, defensive interceptors divided between Alaska and northern California. These interceptors could presumably stop one or several North Korean missiles bound for the continental United States. There are also plans to deploy ten similar interceptors in Poland, in view of the most obvious threat to our European allies coming out of Iran. On the other hand, the nuclear war fighting balance between this country and the Russian Federation has gone from bad to worse. We have foolishly entered into the Strategic Offensive Arms Reductions Treaty (SORT). How could we have made such an error in view of Moscow’s evident, massive national missile defense?

            A number of us in the 1990s, including the intelligence community’s top Russian missile analyst, Bill Lee, warned the government and public that Moscow had deployed an immense number of dual-use interceptors and had littered them about the Soviet Union. Upwards of 10,800 ground-based defensive interceptors were deemed effective against both bombers and incoming high-speed missiles. There are three ways that Moscow can overshadow us in the supreme nuclear war fighting area. They can upgrade their national missile defense, they can induce us to reduce our strategic nuclear offensive arsenal or they can pursue both. It appears they are taking the third course. The aforementioned Strategic Offensive Arms Reductions Treaty, to which the Senate gave its advice and consent in March, 2003, will take us down to between 1700 and 2200 operational warheads by end of 2012.

           At the same time, Comrade Putin moves ahead with improvements in his national missile defense, including deploying new electro-magnetic pulse warheads atop more and more of his anti-ICBM interceptors. Upwards of 10,000 Russian interceptors stand between our offensive arsenal and Russian targets. How is an American offensive arsenal facing five times as many interceptors supposed to threaten those targets, and uphold the military balance among the great powers? Moscow need not strike our offense first, with part of its offense, in order to enjoy nuclear supremacy, if not invincibility.  

            I have not even mentioned our plodding programs to protect our armed forces in the field against missile attack. The Army’s wide-area missile defense by the name of THAAD and Navy’s counterpart by the name of Upper and Lower Tier, are yet to be deployed. Missile defense is to us in importance today what air defense was to us beginning in the 1930s. The Soviets fielded an effective facsimile of THAAD approximately four generations ago, stealing our own technology.

            It gives me no joy to mention that Congressman Gilchrest has been silent about the grotesque implications of Moscow’s national missile defense and SORT. State Senator Harris has not even uttered a word or virtually not even a word on the matter of missile defense.