Posted on 05/03/2007 10:10:42 AM PDT by Freeport
The House Armed Services strategic forces subcommittee is recommending Congress cut the boost-phase Airborne Laser missile defense effort by $400 million, re-evaluate nuclear weapons policy while slowing the Reliable Replacement Warhead, (RRW) and bar the Pentagon from deploying Trident nuclear intercontinental ballistic missiles as converted, conventional prompt global strike weapons.
The panel, which marked up a still-changeable portion of the fiscal 2008 defense authorization bill May 2, also proposes an undetermined funding cut for the proposed European site under the U.S. ballistic missile defense system (BMDS).
But the panel did not require NATO participation in the ongoing bilateral negotiations between the Bush administration and Poland and the Czech Republic, respectively, a congressional aide said. Panel chair Ellen Tauscher (D-Calif.) had threatened to significantly alter the administration's request to drive it toward opening the debate with European allies, and the panel instead lopped off $160 million from the $310 million request (DAILY, April 20).
Republicans on the panel expressed concerns with the ABL cut and resistance to the administration's European-site effort, but they did not block the markup as ranking Rep. Terry Everett (R-Ala.), chairman the last four years, said he approved of most of it. "She has made a sincere effort to work across the aisle, which produced a mark where we agree on far more than we disagree," he said.
Tauscher thanked Everett for working closely with her and reiterated Democrats' priorities to refocus and rein in the administration's missile defense, military space and nuclear weapons efforts.
"In ballistic missile defense programs, the mark reflects our support for addressing real, near-term missile threats facing the warfighter - short- and medium-range missiles - and making only prudent investments in high-risk, immature programs," Tauscher said.
(Excerpt) Read more at aviationweek.com ...
Time for North Korea to launch another missile.
Beautiful, let’s leave it all up to China so they can have a strategic advantage over us in all spheres of influence including economic, weapons, space based defense and offense.
Hell, why don’t we just give them a few direct votes in the senate and save some time1
This makes me sick!!
Sabotage emerging technologies so they can then say “see, it doesn’t work!” They hate Reagan that much, so many years later.
RIP United States
I think they already have that.
I think they have evolved to become surrender gorilla’s
Conventional armed tridents would have to give most world leaders pause, as whoop a$$ from the skies could drop in anytime without starting WW3. And the ABL has more uses than ABM work, just imagine a special forces guy pointing at a bad guy and saying “I Banish Thee”.. ZOT... - Even backwards uneducated folks understand fire from the heavens.
If/when we get hit by an ICBM from the cult of personality that is North Korea, or from Imindamood4jihad in Iran, we know who to blame.
The irony of course is the most likely targets of such an attack are dominated by liberal politics that are against defensive weapon systems.
I’ve always wanted to see what the ABL could do a bunch of fighters or cruise missiles...
It certainly seems to be the case doesn’t it.
A friend of mine said “the ABL would definitely do a mischief to a fighter
be a lot easier to hit too.”
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