Missile Defense, the Space Relationship, and the Twenty-First Century

The Claremont Institute who runs the site Missilethreat.com has published the 2009 edition of a report entitled Missile Defense, the Space Relationship, and the Twenty-First Century. The report includes updated chapters on the ballistic missile threat, the politics of missile defense, and a summary of what must be done to defend America - in their opinion. I have not read the report myself but this synopsis from their homepage suffices to say that I will not agree with their findings. A hallelujah for withdrawing from the ABM treaty? Certainly not!

"First released in 2007, the 2009 update recommends that the Pentagon build on the legacy of technologies developed under the Strategic Defense Initiative of the Reagan administration. Sea- and space-based assets should constitute the backbone of a robust, layered U.S. missile defense shield, which ground-based systems should support. Such a defense would be capable of protecting the U.S., its allies, and troops abroad against the threat of hostile missile attacks from any quarter. The missile threat continues to increase as rogue nations and transnational terrorist organizations attempt to acquire ballistic missile technology and weapons of mass destruction. The report praises the Bush Administration for withdrawing from the 1972 ABM Treaty and beginning modest deployments, but criticizes the Bush administration's failure to deploy a more robust system fully capable of defending the United States, our troops, and our allies."