Few U.S. Options as North Korea Readies Missile Launching

 

With North Korea poised to launch a long-range missile despite a widespread international protest, the Obama administration is trying to play down the propaganda value for North Korea’s leaders and head off criticism of its abortive diplomatic opening to Pyongyang in late February.

North Korea says fueling of rocket is under way

 

North Korea has started fueling a long-range rocket it plans to launch in the coming days, a senior national space official said Wednesday.

Russia, U.S. Hopeful For Agreement on Missile Defense, Lavrov Says

The United States and Russia are optimistic that they can soon come to an agreement on missile defense matters, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told journalists on Wednesday during a trip to Washington.

May: MAD not a 21st Century answer

On June 28th, Iran’s rulers test-fired 14 ballistic missiles, including long- and medium-range Shahab missiles and short-range Zelzal missiles. Also, their new and improved centrifuges are turning out more enriched uranium for nuclear weapons.

Opinion: did Obama change his mind on Missile Defense?

Opinion piece written by E. Thomas McClanahan for the Kansas City Star.

When President Barack Obama came into office, many people (this writer included), expected him to mothball the nation’s missile defense program, much as President Bill Clinton had done. During his campaign, Obama gave lip service to the concept but promised to slice funding for “unproven” systems.

Obama Embraces Missile Defense in Nuclear Review

The article talks about the newly released Nuclear Posture Review and the current administrations plans for missile defense in the future. Specifically, speaking about the new role of nuclear weapons.  ”The role of nuclear weapons is reduced in U.S. national security strategy, these non-nuclear elements will take on a greater share of the deterrence burden,” the review reads.

For an Obama team that has been skeptical of the past U.S. administrations’ efforts to rapidly deploy ballistic missile-defense systems around the world, missile defense sure does get star billing in the United States’ newly released report on overall nuclear strategy.

The document claims that missile defense is critical to allowing the United States to shift away from nuclear weapons, especially now that the U.S. will no longer threaten to use nukes to retaliate against non-nuclear attacks, such as from chemical or biological weapons.

MDAA Alert: “No Way, No How”

Annoucement of New START Treaty

On April 8th, at the historic Prague Castle, U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will sign an arms control treaty that reduces their strategic nuclear weapons and platforms to deliver those weapons. The treaty will then need to be ratified by both the U.S. Senate and the Russian Duma. The interpretation of the treaty’s language and intent in reference to linkage of U.S. missile defense will have considerable influence on the outcome of the Senate and Duma votes; of which 67 out of 100 U.S. Senators are required to ratify the treaty.

Cold War Finale Made Missile Defense Possible

Ashton Carter, Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics

Ashton Carter, the undersecretary of Defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, Carter spoke at the 8th Annual U.S. Missile Defense Conference and stated that missile defense would not have been started without the ending of the Cold War.  He went on to talk about Reagan and Clinton’s role in missile defense and stated that now; missile defense is a cornerstone of American defense.

The end of the Cold War made effective missile defense possible, Ashton Carter, the undersecretary of Defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, said here yesterday.

Carter spoke at the 8th Annual U.S. Missile Defense Conference at the Ronald Reagan Building. The site of the conference is significant as Reagan was the first U.S. president in a generation to push for an effective missile defense system.