Posted on 03/16/2005 6:18:50 PM PST by wagglebee
If nuclear missiles were suddenly fired at the United States from North Korea, the U.S. is ready to shoot them down.
That's the opinion of Major Gen. John Holly, head of the missile-shield program for the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency.
"If directed, we could provide a limited defense against an attack out of Northeast Asia," Holly told Alaska lawmakers, according to the Associated Press.
But he also acknowledged it would have to be a small attack, since there are only eight interceptor missiles in place in Alaska and California.
Fort Greely, Alaska, currently houses six interceptors, with another 10 expected by the end of the year. Vandenberg Air Force Base in California has two interceptors.
Even though President Bush has not declared the system operational, Holly said it could be switched on during an emergency situation.
The program has seen both successes and failures in its testing, with consecutive failures in recent months. In December and February, interceptor missiles failed to launch in attempts to hit targets over the Pacific Ocean.
"Those are very disappointing events. Neither of them dealt with fundamental design issues of the overall system," Holly said, attributing the failures to a software glitch and a faulty retracting arm.
The glitches came under scrutiny in Washington this week, as the Pentagon defended the missile-defense program to lawmakers.
"I have a real problem that a latch did not fall away – that seems so elementary," said Rep. Terry Everett, R-Ala., who chairs the House Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee.
"This stuff costs an awful lot of money, and we have to have some results," Everett said, according to CongressDaily.
It costs the federal government between $80 million and $100 million for each full test, and Holly said the failed tests cost $20 million to $30 million less.
Not everyone at the Pentagon is as optimistic as Holly about the readiness of the shield.
David Duma, acting director of operational test and evaluation, said system is not operationally ready.
"We don't have a demonstrated capability from detection to negating the incoming threat," he said, according to CongressDaily. But Duma added he was encouraged by developments in the last year, which are leading to more realistic testing.
Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, is among those questioning the recent failures, but still expressed support for the program.
"We should not pretend that [this] is an all-star system when it is still in development in the minor leagues," Reyes said. "You can ruin a ballplayer by rushing him to the big leagues, and you can ruin this system by making it run before it can even prove it can walk."
Which is precisely why Congress needs to fund more.
Exactly...he says we "can" shoot down the missiles, not that we would most definitely hit them. More $$$ please.
I'd vote to cancel the NEA, NEH and NPR and use the savings to buy more interceptors. Let the libs fund their own art shows and radio programs.
We also don't have any to spare to prevent an incoming Korean missile from wiping out substantial parts of Canada.
I'd vote to eliminate these leftist programs no matter what, and I would also add the entire Department of Education to the list.
Arrgghh! Duma's statement is in agreement with MG Holly's. Both agree that the system is not operational, yet both also agree that the system has some limited capability.
(directed at the author, not you Argus)
Ka-Ping!
If there's any growth industry on the planet these days it's missile interception.
"I'd vote to eliminate these leftist programs no matter what, and I would also add the entire Department of Education to the list."
I agree. We can always fund education through an educational tax credit until it's phased out over a period of, say, 10 years. Vouchers should never become a reality as it is an income redistribution scheme.
Yes, programs are in production, with upgrades being implemented, and you don't do this stuff fast unless you want it to fail. They are really not operational until a crew can man the radars with missiles (interceptors) ready to fire. This could take some time, but the technology is good enough for the NK type incoming.
Education should never have become a federal concern, it should be left up to the individual states. If the Founding Fathers didn't see a need for a federal department 200 years ago, we don't need it now.
Um, am I wrong in thinking it's not exactly a good idea to have advertised just exactly how many interceptor missiles we have in place?
I admit I just skimmed through this article but it sounds like it says go ahead and try to strike.
Since we could only defend against a little bitty attack and it may not work after all, etc.
I'd vote to eliminate these leftist programs no matter what, and I would also add the entire Department of Education to the list.
And rescind the drug "benefit."
Farm subsidies, the earned income tax credit, hell the whole IRS.
Exactly right -
I have to believe the number is deliberately understated for some reason unknown to us. Why would we advertise our abilities to our enemies?
One other point, it warms my heart to know that this is a big part of the Gipper's legacy. We will benefit from that great patriot in many ways for years to come. May Ronald Reagan rest in peace.
Pinging Heaven... Is Ronald Wilson Reagan handy? :D
All I can say is Silvestre Reyes is a first class A-Hole.
Who would be stupid enough to launch a "small attack" on the USA?
I'd vote to cancel the NEA, NEH and NPR and use the savings to buy more interceptors. Let the libs fund their own art shows and radio programs.
You forgot PBS.
But he also acknowledged it would have to be a small attack, since there are only eight interceptor missiles in place in Alaska and California.
Well let's just tell the whole stinking world what we have and what we are capable of?????????????????? Anybody ever heard of loose lips sink ships???? They could also shoot down interceptors. What was this guy thinking?
Does North Korea already have ICBM capability?
Regardless, we need to get this thing working, and soon.
Right now, they don't have the ability to shoot down an interceptor missile.
Also, don't forget that our proven system, the SM3 is ready for deployment. Now. They've gone five for six in overall tests, and they've gone four in a row for successful intercepts, with the last one being exoatmospheric.
The NKers have to be far more worried about that than the GBI units out of Alaska. Anyone heard from the two cruisers we have equipped with them lately?
This is a riot! You got this from the Onion right?
Mount them on oil derricks...win/win.
IIRC, the missile N. Korea fired over Japan a while ago was a Taepo Dong, the best missile they had at that time. The maximum theoretical distance that missile could reach included the coast of California, and, of course, Hawaii.
I think the consensus, from what I've read, is that N. Korea may have one atomic bomb and now involved in making more, since they're defying UN restrictions and enriching uranium, supposedly to make more bombs.
It is a fact that N. Korea has never tested an atomic bomb, although the technology and expertise to make an atomic bomb is present.
IMO, the publicity about the eight interceptor missiles being ready to handle a threat from N. Korea is interesting, since it sends the message to NK that, despite what they think and shout, they pose absolutely no threat to the US at this time, and probably not for a long time, if ever.
I expect some response from NK over this. In their crazy way of dealing with the rest of the world, they will want to save face and reassert their potency, probably by the familiar diatribes they are notorious for.
The publicity about the interceptors could also play into some scheme being planned for the next Group of 6 talks.
I don't see the publicity as causing any damage, but there could be some dynamics over it. (Not bombs.)
I like the way your wife thinks!
Excellent point. My first quick read of this article really bothered me because it seemed very dangerous to announce all this. I still think it is, but your post really made me laugh.
I imagined the faces on some bold little dictator when they saw the incoming...
No! it cost US THE TAXPAYER not the govt...
Yea,,, for incoming GREENPEACE wackos. lol
I agree he is $$$ fishing, However, the technology is amazing. Hitting a bullet with another bullet in near space is tricky at best and just plane out there. IMHO the &$&'s with lasers (forget the code name this early) is still the best bet. The laser can scan hugh amounts of space in an instant.
So are government schools. As between the two of them, vouchers are the lesser evil.
Actually, in missle defense, it's good for your enemies to know you have a capability to maybe shoot down their missles. It makes planning an attack much riskier and more uncertain. I doubt the general spoke without authority. When you read all the comments together, it comes out to 'who knows?' 'Who knows' is good because it is hard to plan with no information.
There are well over a hundred Standard Missile-3s in service. Interesting guidance system. They are getting away from proximity blasts to direct-hit tech like the PAC-3. Instead of carrying that weight in HE, it can be used for fuel and very high speed.
As someone pointed out, an incoming RV can be travelling faster than the propagation rate of the HE warhead (rendering the explosive warhead useless). Also, as David Drake and others have pointed out, if your missiles go fast enough, the amount of kinetic energy transferred/liberated on impact renders even the addition of a nuclear warhead pointless.
X-Band is for ground based detection only, 8.2 - 12.4 GHz. There is so much crap flying around using X-Band, I'm surprised the isn't a big pile of broken junk on the ground in every city:)
A tax credit refunds to the taxpayer for taxes already paid, which the taxpayer can use to educate his/her children. IOW, a tax credit uses the taxpayer's own money.
A voucher, on the other hand, uses all taxpayers' taxes to distribute them irrespective of how much each taxpayer contribution. IOW, someone who paid taxes may get nothing, while someone who contributed nothing gets a voucher paid for by the contributing taxpayer. This is worse than the current public indoctrination centers, and socialism at its worst.
Let' see. Have em shoot some off!
http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/end.php
We need a unilateral version of MAD. More like KAD (Korea Assured Destruction).
If they nuke a single anything in the USA, we render the entire country radioactive.
The problem right now is they don't believe we will do it. I mean if we didn't go nuclear after 9/11 then there must be no provocation enough to make us unleash the lightning.
KAD, baby.
Unless the tax credit is refundable. The kids that need vouchers the most are poor kids who go to the worst schools. Those are the schools that need to have competitive pressure to make them start educating their kids. Their folks don't pay taxes so a refundable credit is the only one that helps them.
Bottom line, non-refundable tax credits will never fly politically and will have the least impact where they are needed the most.
We are attacking a redistribution program (government schools) that fails to educate and damages our children and culture. I don't mind taking a first swing at it with a vastly better redistribution program (vouchers) if that's the best I can get. We are trying to undo 80 years of the left having its way with almost every institution in our country. We won't get to the finish line in one big step.
"Unless the tax credit is refundable."
I don't know what you mean. Every taxpayer will be entitled to a tax credit based on some formula determined by the amount of tax paid, number of children etc. Naturally, the less taxes you contributed the smaller the credit. This makes a lot of sense.
"The kids that need vouchers the most are poor kids who go to the worst schools."
I'm poor and so are my kids. Are you ready to pay for their education? Poor kids can be helped by community leaders and their churches. You don't expect me and other taxpayers to pay for the education of children that I don't wish to help, do you? That is socialism. I have no wish to help the children of my enemy. But you're welcome to.
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