Guess who has a missile defense system?
posted at 2:57 pm on August 27, 2009 by Ed Morrissey
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The Bush administration argued for increasing investment in missile defense systems to combat two growing threats — Iran and North Korea. Barack Obama attacked this policy during the presidential campaign, and has offered to retreat on missile defense in Europe in exchange for Russian concessions on Iran, among other issues. But Russia’s opposition to missile defense in Europe doesn’t appear to be matched by their increasing fear over North Korea’s missile development — and its lousy aim:
Russia has deployed a missile defence system near its border with North Korea and is studying other measures to protect its population from stray missiles, Russia’s top general said on Wednesday. …
A series of missile launches and a nuclear weapon test by North Korea this year alarmed its neighbours, including South Korea, China and Japan.
“We are definitely concerned by the conditions under which tests are being carried out in North Korea, including nuclear devices,” the chief of Russia’s general staff Nikolai Makarov told journalists in the Mongolian capital Ulan Bator.
The US expressed alarm over Pyongyang’s missile activities as well, especially when they launched a long-range missile over Japan. We had the opportunity to test our system in April, as the Taepodong-2 launch preparation was public and obvious. Instead, we left our best and most expensive missile-tracking radar tied to the dock in Pearl Harbor.
The Russians have taken a more clear-eyed view of the threat from Kim Jong-Il, and not just the threat of aggression. These missile launches usually fail, especially the longer-range rockets, and that creates a whole new level of threat for North Korea’s neighbors. They want to knock down anything that goes astray before it hits Russian territory and lots of Russians — just the concern we should have for our allies in South Korea and Japan.
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HornetSting on August 27, 2009 at 3:57 PM
Well, if we get nuked, nobody will have to worry about being poor anymore.
kingsjester on August 27, 2009 at 3:59 PM
Medvedev’s pledge may be little more than a tactic to force the Israelis to stop providing arms and intelligence to Georgia, Azerbaijan and other former Soviet republics that are defying Moscow.
U.S.-based security consultancy Strategic Forecasting noted in July: “The Americans realize that if they arm Russia’s adversary, Moscow will respond by arming U.S. adversaries — particularly Iran.
“Russia has deals in place under which it would deliver strategic air-defense systems and other arms to Iran and complete Iran’s nuclear facility at Bushehr — all things it has notably declined to do for years now.
“Moscow has been holding onto this card to ensure that the United States does not fulfill its own commitments to Georgia.”
fourdeucer on August 27, 2009 at 3:59 PM
“Lousy aim” has nothing to do with their missile defense system.
GardenGnome on August 27, 2009 at 4:01 PM
Obama though, when he pressed the present button….a gift would pop out. To bad it didn’t electro shock the doofuss
capejasmine on August 27, 2009 at 4:04 PM
orange on August 27, 2009 at 3:52 PM
Another cretin who is unable to identify the difference between a pure public good and a private good.
I guess economics classes just teach dialectic materialism these days, anyway.
NoDonkey on August 27, 2009 at 4:05 PM
Nonsense, they would be fine if they had a public option.
Once they stop vomiting and their teeth are done falling out and all.
NoDonkey on August 27, 2009 at 4:06 PM
But…the CIA…
mizflame98 on August 27, 2009 at 4:07 PM
Obama’s plan for transforming the US into something most of us wouldn’t recognize or vote for if we were paying attention is carefully thought out and planned. His missteps and amateur hour foul-ups are a result of rushing headlong into that plan without any contingency for the push-back he is experiencing now. He believed he could steamroll us by steamrolling congress into passing bills (that his people wrote) without reading them or considering the consequences, especially to their own reelection chances. The delays caused by Congress’ fear for their phony-baloney jobs is not accounted for in his plans and he may be panicking now. He has to resort to bribes and intimidation to get his Democrat sled dogs in line and this is fraught with peril. The balance of carrot to stick has to be just right or his minions may stop being quite so minionable(?) and remember who actually put them in office and who can put them out.
SKYFOX on August 27, 2009 at 4:10 PM
Will Universal Tedcare cover nuclear fallout poisoning?
allstonian on August 27, 2009 at 4:22 PM
Mugabe has a catapult and Zero’s brother probably has a slingshot or spear in that Kenyan hut of his…
Li’l Kim wouldn’t do anything naughty… not after that basketball autographed by Michael Jordan that Peanut Carter gave him. A promise to Madeleine “Cleaning Lady” Albright is a sure thing. Just ask her.
viking01 on August 27, 2009 at 4:23 PM
allstonian on August 27, 2009 at 4:22 PM
It’ll be called the special ChernobylCare option.
viking01 on August 27, 2009 at 4:26 PM
Comparative Care Panel says…..NO.
BobMbx on August 27, 2009 at 4:36 PM
Obama let’s Reid and Pelosi spend whatever they want while cutting funding on our missile defends. Let’s be pessimistic: suppose our system was only 50% accurate and some tinpot tyrant fires four missiles at us. By my math, that is two cities saved. What is that worth?
FYI, our results so far has been much better than 50%. And just having a system would tend to be a deterrent for anyone but some madman hoping to coax the hidden imam out of retirement.
Laurence on August 27, 2009 at 4:47 PM
Anyone remember the ABM treaty and how the Commie SOBs came out on top with that one?
So, what’s new under the sun?
Dr. ZhivBlago on August 27, 2009 at 4:49 PM
Interesting…Seems like Bush was right and Hussein was wrong again! We can’t blame Bush for this one!
BigMike252 on August 27, 2009 at 4:54 PM
kingsjester on August 27, 2009 at 3:59 PM
You mean ‘when’?
Griz on August 27, 2009 at 5:02 PM
Facts about fallout.
- The Cat
MirCat on August 27, 2009 at 5:16 PM
Unreliable? Proof please? Because last I checked our defense stuff > anything else produced on the planet by a huge margin!
Tell those “Americans” going broke because of our “poor” healthcare to put their damned hands back in their pockets, buckle down, get a job, get an education and take advantage of the greatest opportunities provided anywhere on the face of the planet to pull themselves up by their own danged bootstraps.
Meanwhile, the rest of us will help pay to keep them safe, make sure their country continues to be the best place on earth to make it on your own and will continue to provide them with those opportunities to improve themselves and actually experience a little pride in what they’ve done.
That’s how this nation got great, not by catering to the mewing “victims” who are too danged lazy to make something of themselves.
I’ll work to provide equality of opportunity, its up to them to provide the outcome.
P.S. American Defense Contractors = Good paying jobs with great healthcare benefits AND providing products/services to keep our nation and its allies, safe enough to allow for its citizens to make something of themselves.
Poor people turning their noses up at a hand “up” and insisting on hand “outs” = an unnecessary drag on the nation and an unnecessary burden on the rest of us.
There’s some “Priorities” for ya!
Fatal on August 27, 2009 at 5:58 PM
“No missile defense for our time”-Doofus in Chief
anuts on August 27, 2009 at 6:10 PM
No silly.
Constitution > poor people.
Legal priorities!
anuts on August 27, 2009 at 6:13 PM
FIFY
NY Conservative on August 27, 2009 at 6:37 PM
You can tell Rahm Emanuel for me to keep his manufactured crisis talking points to himself and to get off of my balls.
Astroturfing stooge.
hillbillyjim on August 27, 2009 at 6:55 PM
Won’t work. They will just rename it, like
communismsocialismprogressivismliberalism.darktood on August 28, 2009 at 8:24 AM
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