During a press briefing at the Pentagon, spokesman Geoff Morell said that while the U.S. is committed to bringing more troops to the war in Afghanistan the nubmer of combat brigades will most likely be a question for the next administration. (0:54)
We must take the missile threat from Iran seriously.
Such was the statement of Missile Defense Agency Director Lt. General Henry A. “Trey” Obering III at a Missile Defense Status briefing at the Pentagon. Iran, he says, is working on an extended-range variant of the Shahab-3 missile and a new 2,000 km medium-range ballistic missile known as the “Ashura.” Iran is acquiring “advanced ballistic missile capabilities,” and they’re doing it with foreign assistance and an “aggressive development and test program.”
So what was Iran testing last week? Intelligence provides that info, Obering said, but the Iranians themselves are the ones providing the information. Although this may call into question the accuracy of the information due to bias, Obering said that based on what he has seen, they [Iran] have the capability to have long range missiles. And by having Iran talk about the possibility of a space launch brings to mind something else: the ability to have an umbrella of cover under which they could make booster missiles capable of traveling intercontinental distances.
The thought of a nuclear missile capable of reaching the United States from Iran strikes fear into the heart of every American, and Obering stressed that this is the very reason the missile defense system in Europe is needed. Based on azimuth trajectories (the arc a missile would have to travel in order for it to intercept another target), we need radar detection in the Czech Republic, and our actual interceptors located in Poland. Any closer, and they could not travel the proper trajectory to destroy an enemy missile in time to avoid significant damage.
But what if the attack isn’t nuclear, and is, in fact, an EMP? EMP’s are missiles that deploy an electromagnetic pulse, capable of disabling electronics across a large area. The amount of disabling caused is proportional to how close it is to the target when it goes off, hence the desire to intercept those types of missiles as far above the ground as possible. The House Armed Services Committee discussed that threat and said the potential damage would be significant.
The United States has eighteen nations around the globe that we can do missile defense interaction with. “It’s not the United States only” that is concerned, and there are a growing number of nations that want defense. Placing our interceptors in Poland is where it makes the most sense. Although Russia says that we’re exaggerating a missile threat from Iran, and has also come to a misconception that we are pointing missiles at Russia themselves, there are three fundamental problems with that theory. One, the angle of the missiles would actually fire them 256 kilometers into space if they went all the way to their apex, two, interceptors don’t carry the same payload such as an actual destructive missiles does- they’re only designed to hit things that do have that payload, and make them explode on themselves, and three, a European interceptor site (up to 10 interceptors) “would be easily overwhelmed by Russia’s strategic missiles force,” should we fire at them.
Russia, apparently, has been invited to “come have a look,” and we’ve made a proposal: we will set the defense system up but we won’t bring it completely operational unless the Iranian threat emerges. Obering said that an Iranian threat has emerged when there is proof they have the capability to fire off a missile that can travel 2,000 - 2,500 kilometers, and, if we wait till they actual fire off those missiles, it’s too late to get our own defenses up to defend against it. There is the need to be ready now, not later. Yes, Obering said, they [Iran] have long-range missiles.
Tests have been conducted utilizing missiles fired at the proper trajectories from Alaska and California, to emulate an actual airstrike. Obering said they’re concerned that Iran and North Korea will develop the ability to counteract our defense, and shoot our interceptors down before they can do what they are meant to do: protect. That is why by the end of this year we hope to have two tracking satellites that can track launched missiles more precisely than we do with our current ground radar, such as the one located in Japan. Since we have fielded an initial capability to defend the United States against ballistic missile attacks, we must take into account future uncertainties. Right now, we’re hitting our targets within centimeters from where we’re aiming.
Correspondent S. Dawn Jones will be tackling our Pentagon coverage today. 10th Mountain Division Commander Army Maj. Gen. Michael will be briefing reporters to provide an update on ongoing security operations in Iraq. Chief UN Correspondent Dan Patterson reports that the UN Security Council did not vote on the Zimbabwe draft resolution. (more…)
The Washington Bureau will cover an Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing on “Accountability Lapses in Multiple Funds for Iraq,” a subcommittee of the House Judiciary Hearing on “Retail Price of Gas and Competition in the Oil Industry,” and a subcommittee of the House Homeland Security Committee on “The Border Security Challenge: Recent Developments and Legislative Proposals.” A correspondent will also cover a Senate Special Committee on Aging hearing on “Seniors at Risk: Improving Medicare for Our Most Vulnerable.” Later, the Washington Bureau will cover a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and House Financial Services Committee joint hearing on how the mortgage crisis afflicts neighborhoods, as well as a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on how to provide legal assistance to low-income Americans.
Pentagon Correspondent Meredith MacKenzie will attend a pen and pad briefing with the Senate Leadership, including Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), as well as a press conference with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).
Correspondent Dawn Jones will cover a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on the nominations of Gen. David Petraeus “for reappointment to the grade of general and to be commander of the United States Central Command,” and Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno “for appointment to the grade of general and to be commander of the Multi-National Force-Iraq.”
Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell, at a press briefing, says this government [United States] has made clear that we’re going to continue to put pressure on Iran, and that we’re going to try and persuade them to change their ways. The pressure is being applied diplomatically, economically, and military. He says he’s not going to go into specifics, but that “all military options remain on the table.” (0:46)
At a press briefing held with Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell, he said that Secretary of Defense Robert Gates believes there needs to be a bigger education budget for the military, and there needs to be an improved GI Bill. It is known, Morrell said, that families determine whether or not military personnel become career, and therefore there is fear that lack of good education benefits will create incentive to leave. It is important to hold on to battle tested troops, which Morrell said Secretary Gates feels is the key in our conflicts.
Morrell said it has been made clear that we are going to be increasing pressure on Iran, to get them to change their ways. All military options, he said, are on the table. The pressure is being increased by military, economic, and diplomatic forces, so that Iran will say they’re ready to talk in a reasonable and productive way. To increase pressure on Iran, military pressure is being applied within the confines of Iraq, and also outside of Iraq, such as with our carrier groups in the Persian Gulf.
Today at The Talk Radio News Service Chief Pentagon Correspondent Meredith MacKenzie will be covering the Defense Subcommittee hearing on the Defense Department with Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen.
The Washington Staff will attend the weekly pen and pad news briefing with House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), a Workforce Protections Subcommittee hearing on “Immigration and Customs Enforcement Workplace Raids: Their Impact on U.S. Children, Families, and Communities,” a hearing by the Asia, the Pacific, and the Global Environment Subcommittee on “Burma in the Aftermath of Cyclone Nargis: Death, Displacement, and Humanitarian Aid,” and a hearing on “Financial Speculation in Commodity Markets: Are Institutional Investors and Hedge Funds Contributing to Food and Energy Price Inflation?”
In the afternoon the Washington Staff will attend the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on “Protecting the Constitutional Right to Vote for all Americans” and the International Organizations, Human Rights, and Oversight Subcommittee hearing on “City on the Hill or Prison on the Bay? The Mistakes of Guantanamo and the Decline of America’s Image.” The Washington Staff will also be attending the Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law Subcommittee hearing on “Immigration Needs of America’s Fighting Men and Women,” and an address at The Center for American Progress by Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Joseph Biden (D-Del.) to challenge 2008 presidential candidates Sen. John McCain’s recent foreign policy speech.
Legal Affairs Correspondent Jay Tamboli will be covering Supreme Court opinions, UN Correspondent Dan Patterson will be covering events at the United Nations this afternoon. Pentagon Correspondent Meredith MacKenzie will be covering the White House gaggle. The Washington Bureau will be covering a hearing on China’s Proliferation Practices, a discussion on “Iran in three dimensions”. In the afternoon, reporters will attend a news conference on ‘war and decision’ with former Defense Undersecretary for Policy Douglass Feith, and a discussion on ‘Gross National Happiness.’
During a press briefing at the Pentagon, Defense Department spokesman Geoff Morrell says that the U.S. has more than enough assets in the Middle east to serve as a reminder to Iran of the U.S. military capability, as a part of pressure the American government hopes to put on Iran. (1:04)
During a press briefing at the Pentaon, Defense spokesman Geoff Morrell says that the Secretary of Defense would like to see diplomatic and economic pressures, as well as the threat of military action toward Iran continue in an “amplified way.” (0:50)
