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On July 5, North Korea test-fired several ballistic missiles, one of which was capable of reaching the United States. Fortunately, that one tumbled harmlessly into the Sea of Japan. North Korea has been threatening to fire ballistic missiles for several years. President Bush already branded North Korea as part of the "axis of evil." This North Korean threat dramatically demonstrates the need for the anti-missile defense system that President Ronald Reagan called for in his famous nationally televised speech of March 23, 1983. At the time Reagan made this landmark speech, our national strategy for dealing with the Soviet nuclear threat was called Mutual Assured Destruction, known by its acronym MAD. Reagan and most conservatives believed it was, indeed, MAD to continue with a plan that simply threatened the Russians that, if they bombed the United States, we would bomb them back and kill millions of Russians. President Reagan asked the crucial question, Isn't it better to save American lives than to depend on retaliation and vengeance? That was the start of our anti-ballistic-missile defense, known as ABM. Ted Kennedy and the anti-defense claque tried to ridicule Reagan's plan as Star Wars, but Reagan's vision was accurate and his goal was and is essential. Despite vigorous objections from Russian President Vladamir Putin, in December 2001 President Bush withdrew from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty that was so foolishly negotiated by Henry Kissinger and signed by President Richard Nixon, and had been an albatross around our necks prohibiting us from building necessary ABM defenses. Subsequently, the Bush Administration moved steadily to build several methods of defense against both short-range and long-range missiles. In addition to facing down intimidation from rogue states like North Korea, we need anti-missile defenses because Russia still has 3,500 long-range missiles and up to 15,000 smaller tactical nuclear weapons, Iran is a growing threat, and China is using the huge amounts of cash is gets from U.S. trade to modernize its ballistic missile arsenal. We live in a dangerous world, and there is no excuse for our government not building the best defenses we can in order to save American lives. If we shoot down North Korea's missile with our own anti-missile system, that would send a powerful message to North Korea that it cannot succeed with such tactics. It would also reassure Japan and other U.S. allies that we have the will to protect them from rogue madmen. The best way to discourage nuclear proliferators would be to demonstrate that the United States is willing and able to destroy their missiles before they hit their targets. It's time for the U.S. to let the world know that we have an anti-ballistic missile defense system to protect our people and our allies, and that we will use it. |
