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Democrat defense cuts Democrats on the House Armed Services Committee this week slashed Pentagon funding for U.S. missile-defense programs in ways critics say will severely harm efforts to build an integrated system to defend against missile attacks. A total of $764 million was cut from the $8.9 billion missile-defense budget request during a mark-up hearing on the fiscal 2008 defense authorization bill before the strategic forces subcommittee, headed by Rep. Ellen O. Tauscher, California Democrat. The Democrats' most controversial cut came in halving money for building a third ground-based interceptor site in Poland and Czech Republic, effectively killing plans for...

The airborne laser ballistic missile defense system successfully fired its tracking laser during a flight test Thursday night. Testing of the ABL is based at Edwards Air Force Base, and the laser test took place over the Pacific Ocean off the California coast. The weapons system is designed to use a high-energy laser mounted in a highly modified 747 aircraft to destroy a ballistic missile while it is still in the boost phase, shortly after launch. A high-energy chemical laser is used to puncture a hole in the missile's pressurized fuel tank, causing it to rupture. In this way, the...

Japan plans to speed up anti-missile system Financial Times 10/26/2006 , Author: Michiyo Nakamoto Japan will bring forward its programme for setting up a missile defence system following heightened tensions in the region caused by North Korea's nuclear test, the Japanese defence minister said yesterday. "Japan does not have the power to defend itself against a missile attack," Fumio Kyuma, the new head of Japan's Defence Agency, said yesterday. "We should try to bring forward the timing (of missile defence deployment)," he said. Mr Kyuma also said the JDA could be upgraded to a ministry as early as January, highlighting...

On the forefront of our country's most western state, against the backdrop of the USS Arizona Memorial and the Battleship Missouri, floats 4 of our major Missile Defense assets; the USS Russell (DDG-59), USS Lake Erie (CG-70), USS Port Royal (CG-73), and SBX-1. These 4 ships, in conjunction with the GBI sites in Alaska and California can neutralize North Korea's ballistic missile intentions. In the last 12 months, the United States has successfully intercepted 13 ballistic missiles during realistic operational testing. In the last 90 days, the United States intercepted 4 ballistic missiles from long range to short range and...

October 13, 2000 The Clinton-Gore Record on National Missile Defense America, the Vulnerable Despite the real and increasingly urgent threat posed by countries intent on developing and deploying weapons of mass destruction, Americans today remain vulnerable to a ballistic missile attack. This is the Clinton-Gore record. Evidence of this pervasive threat is constantly in the news; most recently, we learned of Iran's testing of its new, medium-range, 800-mile ballistic missile, the Shahab-3. While the rocket exploded shortly after liftoff, similar problems in the past have done nothing to deter Iran from moving forward with its ballistic missile program and seeking...

A US warship successfully shot down a target missile warhead over the Pacific in a test of a sea-based missile defense system, the US military said. A Japanese destroyer performed surveillance and tracking exercises during the test, marking the first time any US ally has taken part in a US missile defense intercept test, the US Missile Defense Agency said. The test came amid a confrontation with North Korea over its preparations to launch a long-range missile. The sea-based system tested off Hawaii is designed to counter only short or medium range missiles, but the cruisers and destroyers that took...

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A U.S. warship has successfully knocked down a short-range missile fired from Hawaii, the Pentagon has said, amid global concerns about a possible North Korea missile test. An interceptor rocket fired from the cruiser USS Shiloh knocked down the warhead from a target missile about 250 miles off Kauai shortly after noon (6 p.m. ET), the Defense Department's missile defense agency reported on Thursday. The U.S. missile defense agency said Thursday's test had been scheduled for months and was not prompted by indications that North Korea was planning to test launch a long-range missile, AP reported.

Sea-Based Missile Defense System Works, but Will Congress Fund It? by Baker SpringPosted Jun 16, 2006In 1995, The Heritage Foundation’s Missile Defense Study Team proposed to Congress a comprehensive plan for developing and deploying an effective global defense against ballistic missiles. The panel was chaired by the former director of the Strategic Defense Initiative, Ambassador Henry F. Cooper, and among its recommendations was a proposal to evolve the existing AEGIS weapons systems onboard Navy surface ships for air defense into a missile defense system. Last month, the Navy demonstrated the wisdom of this approach by successfully testing modified versions of...

While the war on terror has been grabbing a lot of public attention, the United States has quietly been in the process of neutralizing the missile arsenals of China, North Korea, and even Iran. This is probably one of the most important stories concerning the strategic balance, yet one of the least covered. Prior to the attacks of September 11, 2001, the United States withdrew from the ABM Treaty (which it had signed with Russia in 1972), and began development of a national missile defense system. Research into missile defense had begun in earnest in 1983, but after withdrawing from...

New Norad deal approved in House of Commons Updated Mon. May. 8 2006 11:35 PM ET Canadian Press OTTAWA -- The House of Commons has voted to renew and expand the Norad pact, a keystone of Canada's defence for half a century. Both the Conservative government, which signed the latest renewal agreement, and the Liberals, who oversaw the renewal process, supported the deal.

Tories to re-open missile defence debate By John Ward February 23, 2006 OTTAWA (CP) - Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor says he's willing to re-open the controversial debate on ballistic missile defence. However, the minority Conservative government would eventually put the question before the Commons and since all three opposition parties have opposed the idea in the past, the concept is likely dead before it starts. "It would really, ultimately, be up to a vote in Parliament," the minister told reporters Thursday. The previous Liberal government seemed to favour participation in missile defence, which was a key policy for the Bush...

If the pronouncements of Iran’s leaders are anything to go by, they will be depending on their force of ballistic missiles as well as their terrorist allies to deliver the nuclear weapons they hope to build. While space-based intelligence satellites can help with the fight against terrorists, it takes active weapons to either destroy a missile on the ground or after it has taken off. There have been reports from some sources of dubious reliability that the Iranians are already moving their Shebab missiles every few hours to protect them from a surprise attack. Obviously if anything happens, the first...

The Air Force held the 14th test of the Israeli-designed Arrow 2 anti-ballistic missile on Friday, successfully intercepting an incoming rocket at a higher altitude than ever before. A day after Prime Minister Ariel Sharon declared that Israel would not tolerate Iranian efforts to get nuclear arms, the test demonstrated Israel's robust interception capability against incoming missiles that may be armed with nuclear or chemical warheads. The Defense Ministry said the routine test, which was scheduled over a year ago, tested improvements made to the Arrow 2 system. The test took place at 10:28 a.m., when the Arrow 2 interceptor...

FAIRBANKS -- A U.S. Senate subcommittee report chastises the Defense Department for de-emphasizing ground-based missile interceptors, such as those at Fort Greely, as it develops a national defense system. The report, from a subcommittee led by Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, accompanies the Senate version of a defense spending bill for fiscal year 2006, which began Oct. 1. The Senate passed the bill Oct. 7. It must now be merged with a House of Representatives version passed in June. "After many years of investment in this midcourse interceptor, (the Defense Department's Missile Defense Agency) has now essentially decided that the first...

This comes as no surprise, but our do-nothing neighbors to the North have declined participation in the missile defense shield. Apparently, the support just isn't there within the House to "risk" the Liberals losing future elections over. The fact that this issue is so charged that Canadians would vote them out of office if they supported it should give us all a little into the mindset of our "allies." I don't know how else to read it other than Canadians prefering to bind our hands when it comes to defense. Does the majority of Canada prefer to see more destruction...

From Canada Free Press newspaper today, One upmanship factor in "Coalition of Idiots" MP mail response shows the anti-American hatred by Canadian Liberal politicians. Here is the first bit of it: One upmanship seems more important than sincerity when Canadian Liberal Member of Parliament Carolyn Parrish responds to email and letter writers complaining about her anti-American rhetoric. In fact, people writing letters of complaint about her latest anti-American slurs get form letters in reply, Canada Free Presshas learned. Letters to Parrish are computer rated as "positive", "constructively critical" or "crude, vile or threatening" before writers get a response.

Did I hear Kerry right tonight? Did he say he would dismantle the missile defense system? Or am my mistaken?? Right there -- I think he lost a lot of Republicans, if that is really what he said. In addition, he started off saying he was against the War in Iraq and he ended up saying that it was the right thing to go into Iraq and get Saddam Hussein. Oh, well, just another flip-flop!

Reagan's Defense Vision Takes First Step Ground-based missile interceptor was installed Thursday in Alaska's Interior - the first component of a national defense system designed to shoot down enemy missiles. Crews at Fort Greely lowered the 55-foot-long, three-stage interceptor into one of six silos built behind a double perimeter fence reinforced by heavy barbed wire. "We're coming to the end of an era where we have not been able to defend our country against long-range ballistic missile attacks," said Major Gen. John Holly, who heads the ground-based missile defense program for the Pentagon Missile Defense Agency. Five additional interceptors will...

John Kerry's foreign policy advisor Jeffery Smith on C-Span: Oh I get it. A prime element of Kerry's plans for the military as just revealed by his foreign policy advisor Jeffery Smith is to shift money within the military to pay for 40,000 additional troups. The money would come from programs like missle defense. Ahhhh. Click. Anything to keep us from defending our selves in the future. If he can't cause the US to lose now at least he can hope to set the stage for future failure. Viva la France, n'est pas, M. Kerry?

Released by JohnKerry.com. Text of Kerry's remarks. Yes, we must invest in missile defense. But not at the cost of other pressing priorities. We cannot afford to spend billions to deploy an unproven missile defense system. Not only is it not ready, but it's the wrong priority for a war on terror where the enemy strikes with a bomb in the back of a truck, or a vial of anthrax in a briefcase. This is part of a larger problem. From day one, this Administration has been obsessed with threats from other states -- instead of opening their eyes to...