Vitter Statement on President Obama's Missile Defense Shield Plan

Statement

U.S. Sen. David Vitter today issued the following statement regarding President Obama's decision to abandon the Bush administration's missile defense shield plan.

"Today's decision to scrap the Bush administration's missile defense shield plan is the worst kind of politics, placing political gain over the safety concerns of billions of people.

"The cancellation of the missile defense program in Eastern Europe places us all in jeopardy. Iran remains defiant in the eyes of the international community and has been working to advance its long-range missile program, and yet the Obama administration would rather placate Russia than shore up our defenses against this very real and growing nuclear threat.

"This is definitely a step backwards in foreign relations, and it sends a very troubling message to the rest of the world. The continued threats from Iran represent a very real concern to the United States and to our closest allies in the Middle East and Europe. We should be taking extraordinary measures to defend ourselves and our friends from this threat, not backtracking toward the Cold War and allowing Russia to assert its dominance over Eastern Europe.

"This is absolutely the wrong way to be heading. Today I spoke with General Cartwright about the ballistic missile defense system and, in my capacity as Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces, I will continue to work with Pentagon officials to try to ensure that we implement that the appropriate defenses for our nation and our allies," said Vitter.

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