MissileDefense

Published: 02/12/10

Laser Attack a Small Step Toward 'Star Wars' Defense

By Paul Wachter - AOL News

(Feb. 12) – The United States successfully used an airborne laser to destroy a mock ballistic missile Thursday, the "first directed-energy lethal-intercept demonstration against a liquid-fuel-boosting ballistic missile target from an airborne platform," according to the U.S. Missile Defense Agency. "The revolutionary use of directed energy is very attractive for missile defense, with the potential to attack multiple targets at the speed of light, at a range of hundreds of kilometers and at a low cost per intercept attempt compared to current technologies," Reuters quoted the ...

Published: 09/18/09

Russia Praises Missile Shield Decision, Obama's 'Responsible Attitude'

By David Sessions - Politics Daily

The government of Russia is praising President Obama's decision to scrap a land-based missile-defense system in Eastern Europe, which the country had seen as a threat to its national security. The proposed shield had strained U.S.-Russian relations since President George W. Bush pushed for it at the end of his administration. But reaction in other Eastern European nations, including Poland and the Czech Republic, was mixed, as they had seen the shield as a layer of protection from future Russian aggression. ...

Published: 09/17/09

U.S. Cancels Missile Shield in Eastern Europe

By David Sessions - Politics Daily

In a midnight telephone call to Czech Republic interim Prime Minister Jan Fischer, President Obama announced that his administration is shelving a nuclear-missile defense shield the Bush administration was planning to build in eastern Europe. Pentagon officials confirmed the move Thursday morning, saying the decision was based on the fact that Iran's nuclear program has developed much more slowly than expected, and is not considered an imminent threat to the continental United States or major European capitals. ...

Published: 04/7/09

Sarah Palin Launches into President Obama's Missile Defense Cuts

By Tommy Christopher - Politics Daily

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin released a statement Monday, criticizing President Obama's spending cuts for ballistic missile defense, in response to North Korea's failed rocket test:Palin herself criticized proposed Obama administration cuts proposed to missile defense programs. "I am deeply concerned with North Korea's development and testing program which has clear potential of impacting Alaska, a sovereign state of the United States, with a potentially nuclear armed warhead," she said in the statement. "I can't emphasize enough how important it is that we continue to develop and perfect the ...

1995

Published: 03/4/09

Obama First Denies, Then Confirms Missile Shield Deal

By Mark Impomeni - Politics Daily

Reports of a secret offer from the Obama Administration to the Russian government over the U.S. planned missile defense system in Europe surfaced yesterday. The reports said that soon after the inauguration, President Obama directed that a letter be hand delivered to the Kremlin offering a quid pro quo of sorts. In exchange for Russian help in halting Iran's nuclear programs, the president would scale back the missile shield, forgoing planned base installations in Poland and the Czech Republic. One official with knowledge of the deal was quoted as saying that removal of the Iranian threat ...

Published: 08/14/08

Invasion Spurs U.S., Poland Missle Deal

By Mark Impomeni - Politics Daily

In what may be one of the first dominoes to fall as a result of Russia's continuing military action in Georgia, the United States and Poland announced that the two nations have entered into a deal to base U.S. missile defense system batteries in the former Warsaw Pact nation. The countries also pledged to come to each other's aid, "in case of trouble." The U.S. said that the deal was not timed to send any signals to Russia in the wake of it's invasion of Georgia. But the planned missile defense batteries in Poland and the Czech Republic have been a sticking point in U.S.-Russian relations for ...

Published: 03/18/08

Rice, Gates in Russian Talks

By Mark Impomeni - Politics Daily

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates are in Russia for meetings with outgoing Russian President Vladimir Putin and his successor, Dmitry Medvedev. High on the list of items to be discussed is the dispute between the two nations over U.S. plans for a ballistic missile defense system in Eastern Europe and the Czech Republic. Russia opposes locating missiles and radar installations in the two former Soviet bloc countries on grounds that the system may one day be converted to an offensive system targeting Russia. American officials, including President Bush ...

Published: 03/10/08

U.S., Poland Seeking Missile Defense Deal

By Mark Impomeni - Politics Daily

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk (left) will be at the White House today for talks with President Bush. Tusk is hoping to make progress on a proposed deal between the United States and Poland that would result in U.S. upgrades for Poland's military in exchange for the right to place missile defense batteries on Polish soil. The missile defense proposal has been a sore point in an ever more tense relationship between the United States and Russia. Former Russian president Vladimir Putin once threatened to target and missile shield installations in Eastern Europe with nuclear weapons.Poland has ...