PrintJune 19, 2009
Will the NoKo's fire a missile at Hawaii on July 4th?
Japanese intel thinks so. Our own intelligence shows a missile sitting on the launch pad in North Korea right now.
This piece in the UK Daily Mail has the details:
North Korea may launch a long-range ballistic missile towards Hawaii on American Independence Day, according to Japanese intelligence officials.The missile, believed to be a Taepodong-2 with a range of up to 4,000 miles, would be launched in early July from the Dongchang-ni site on the north-western coast of the secretive country.
Intelligence analysts do not believe the device would be capable of hitting Hawaii's main islands, which are 4,500 miles from North Korea.
t was announced today that the U.S. has deployed anti-missile defences around Hawaii in response to the threat. North Korea test-fired a similar long-range missile on July 4 three years ago, but it failed seconds after liftoff.
U.S. Defence Secretary Robert Gates said the additional defences around Hawaii consist of a ground-based mobile missile system and a radar system nearby.
Together they could shoot an incoming missile in mid air.
That's all well and good. But Jennifer Rubin writing at PJ Media has the story of the Democrats in the House gutting missile defense by cutting $1.6 billion dollars from the appropriation:
Perhaps no part of the Obama administration's planned Defense Department budget makes less sense than its effort to slash $1.2B from missile defense programs for FY 2010.
In light of the recent behavior of North Korea and the reminder that we face the prospect of a nuclear-armed revolutionary Islamic state in Iran, a group of Republican congressmen on the House Armed Services Committee on Tuesday offered a series of amendments seeking to reverse the proposed cuts.
Sources on the Committee tell Pajamas Media that the Committee Democrats blocked the amendments - seemingly unaware that earlier in the day Obama had deemed North Korea's nuclear ambitions to be a "grave threat" or that administration officials were reporting that North Korea could have an ICBM capable of reaching the U.S. west coast within five years. Minority Whip Eric Cantor told Pajamas Media: "As we watch what is going on with North Korea and the brutal regime in Iran, Democrat efforts to cut missile defense programs are not only misguided, but dangerous. As our enemies ramp up, it makes no sense to cut important defense and national security programs."
It appears that the only cuts Democrats want to make in the budget will affect the military and especially, systems that could protect us from rogue states like North Korea.
