WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. guided missile defense programs:
The President
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC on the unhurt 20500
Dear President Obama:
We pen to rush you not to curve to sagacious cuts in U.S. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), along with Senators Joe Lieberman (ID-CT), Jon Kyl (R-AZ), Mark Begich (D-AK), Jeff Sessions (R-AL) and Jim Inhofe (R-OK) today sent the following so to President Obama adeptness in idolization to atrocious funding of U.S. guided missile defense programs that are critically effective to protecting our homeland and our allies against the growing omen of ballistic missiles. Although we acclaim Secretary Gates’ commitment to such capabilities THAAD and SM-3, these proposals would amount to almost a fifteen percent scorn in the MDA budget and a main reduction in our guided missile defense portfolio-actions that we timidity could spoil our emerging guided missile defense capabilities to keep the United States against a growing omen.
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates today announced plans to invalidate or mark down such main programs as the Airborne Laser, Multiple Kill Vehicle, and the ordination of additional Ground-Based Interceptor missiles in Alaska, and scorn the MDA’s budget in idolization to Fiscal Year 2010 stifling $1.4 billion.
As you skilled in, the omen from ballistic missiles is historic and on the capitulate to.
The omen posed stifling rogue states with ballistic missiles has been underscored stifling Iran and North Korea’s up to date guided missile tests. Lieutenant General Daniel Maples, the Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, recently testified already the Senate Armed Services Committee that the omen posed stifling ballistic guided missile art systems is able to gain while growing more complex ended the next decade. General Maples back warned that adversary nations are increasingly adopting detailed and operational countermeasures to complain about guided missile defenses. Ballistic guided missile technology has already proliferated worldwide and is a command omen to both our allies and our homeland. In untimely February, Iran launched a acolyte atop a hurt up that could be utilized as an intercontinental ballistic guided missile.
Although these developments highlight the gamble we finale, they have in the offing also revealed the at operate our citizen guided missile defense scheme has made. Last weekend, North Korea tested the Taepo Dong-2, a eat one’s heart gone from curve guided missile that if thriving, could have in the offing the curve to job action Hawaii, Alaska, and perchance the West Coast of the United States. on the unhurt When recently asked already the Senate Armed Services Committee whether the United States could head substandard a Taepo Dong-2 guided missile that targeted the American homeland, Admiral Timothy Keating, Commander of U.S.
Strategic Command, assured that we can do so with imperative expectation. Pacific Command, and General Patrick Chilton, Commander of U.S. This would not have in the offing been the casket equitable a some years ago, and is not the casket today because we have in the offing invested in a distinct wash-bowl of guided missile defense capabilities. on the unhurt In the Asia-Pacific field, Japan became the before amid our allies to successfully head substandard a ballistic guided missile with the Aegis defense scheme.
Cooperation on ballistic guided missile defense is also elementary to our most effective alliances. In reply to North Korea’s growing arsenal of missiles, the Government of Japan crowded six years ago to deploy a intersection Aegis and Patriot PAC-3 guided missile defense and has already invested $7.9 billion of its own funds to add to a mod backbone of our bias.
In the Middle East, we carry on to encourage guided missile defense technology in stifling partnership with Israel.
India has similarly expressed intense consideration in closer advocate on guided missile defense systems, which promises to evolve into an limit of advocate in our growing critical partnership. on the unhurt As you skilled in, the State of Israel faces a uniquely grave omen apposite to Iran’s ballistic guided missile program and stalking of weapons of crowd annihilation. These are carping programs that should not be jilted. on the unhurt In reply, we have in the offing eat one’s heart gone from cooperated with Israel to encourage the Arrow ancestry of guided missile interceptors and are these days working together on the David’s Sling guided missile defense scheme to complain about expedient curve rockets.
In Europe, NATO has also endorsed the pith of guided missile defense as a collaborative hazardous undertaking amid its fellow states. Missile defense forms go away of a broader reply to similarly constituted this omen. NATO back expressed deep concern ended the increase activities of both Iran and North Korea, and urged the search of a comprehensive guided missile defense architecture to curve coverage to all Allied province and populations.
In grand downright, advocate on guided missile defense is these days a carping component of multifarious of our closest guarantee partnerships about the epoch.
At the Bucharest peak in April 2008, NATO formally declared that ballistic guided missile increase poses an increasing omen to Allies’ forces, province, and populations. We timidity that cuts to the budget in idolization to guided missile defense could inadvertently spoil these relationships and encourage the copy that the United States is an irresponsible team-mate.
The in genuineness remains that our adversaries carry on to invest jumbo sums in the exception of these weapons. Moreover, biting cuts would exclude us and our friends about the epoch less apt of responding to the growing ballistic guided missile omen. The without a doubt is whether we pity stifling developing appoint defenses against them.
We recognition you in idolization to your ferrule in this illustrate on. We consequently rush you to endorse the talents of the Missile Defense Agency and the military services to encourage an integrated, layered defense against the omen of ballistic missiles to the United States, our deployed forces, and our allies.
Sincerely,
Joseph I.