Obering would welcome missile defense race

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Obering would welcome missile defense race
By John T. Bennett - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Apr 24, 2008 6:38:20 EDT

A key American general said Wedn the United States should not shy from a global “missile defense race,” because the shield Washington is pursuing — composed of sophisticated interceptors, radars and satellites — will be difficult to penetrate.

In fact, Air Force Lt. Gen. Henry Obering, head of the Missile Defense Agency (MDA), told Senate appropriators that because “access is easier” to certain kinds of offensive missile systems, “there is already a missile race spreading across the world.”

Still, he told the Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee, the kind of “layered” missile defense apparatus being pursued by the U.S. military, the Bush administration and key allies should deter potential enemies from building large arsenals of offensive missiles.

During a hearing on the agency’s 2009 budget request, Obering told the appropriators that if Washington, its NATO allies and countries like Russia band together to develop and field missile shields around the globe, hostile regimes in Tehran and Pyongyang “will think twice about offensive missiles … because history shows” such defensive systems “are hard to defeat.”

Obering’s confidence comes as Pentagon and administration officials continue talks with European allies and Warsaw as they attempt to reach a pact over a proposal to place about a dozen missile interceptors on Polish soil. Washington already has secured a preliminary deal with the Czech Republic to place an advanced radar suite there.


Rest of article at: http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2008/04/defense_mda_042308/