Issue Position: Missile Defense

Issue Position

Issue Position: Missile Defense

North Korea's recent tests once again clearly illustrate that the United States needs a strong missile defense system for one overarching reason - the threat of a missile strike is real. More than 30 countries now have ballistic missiles and more than a dozen are suspected of developing chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons - weapons of mass destruction. In 2005, there were nearly 80 foreign ballistic missile launches around the world. Many of these nations, including Iran and North Korea, are hostile to the United States, and there is no question that they would use their arsenal as an instrument of terror, intimidation, and aggression.

As part of a comprehensive strategy to protect against today's threats, we need a new concept for deterrence. The principal danger today is no longer the threat of a nuclear first strike by the Soviet Union as it was during the Cold War, but the threat stemming from a limited number of long-range missiles armed with weapons of mass destruction in the hands of rogue states. An effective missile defense system will not only protect against the potential danger from the pursuit of long-range ballistic missile capabilities from an unpredictable dictator, but will provide an alternative to the grim prospect of the United States being forced to order a massive conventional attack or even a retaliatory nuclear strike.

While it will always be difficult to know precisely who will threaten us or where and when the threat will become real, we know that the technology for ballistic missiles will continue to advance, and they will become easier to acquire in the years ahead. This is precisely why we need to support the continuing development of the means to defend against these weapons. It is vital that we give our Commander in Chief broader options than just retaliatory mass destruction, and this is what missile defense provides. The U.S. needs the alternative capability to destroy missiles before they hit our homeland, deployed U.S. forces, or allies abroad. An effective missile defense system ensures that if our enemies do attack, we can defuse the threat, protect Americans, and move forward without a massive loss of life to Americans or to others.

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