Two Critical Editorials On President Obama's Plans For Missile Defense

Aloha, 'Star Wars' -- The Washington Times

Obama bluffs on defending Hawaii.

July 4 could be another day that will live in infamy. The Obama administration seized headlines June 18 when the Defense Department stated that the United States would deploy ground- and sea-based missile-defense assets to protect Hawaii. This was a response to North Korea's threat to launch a long-range missile on July 4 toward the islands. However, new information suggests that the administration is bluffing and our defenses are inadequate to get the job done.

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Target: Hawaii -- Wall Street Journal

Missile defenses for Oahu, but cuts for the rest of us.

The Pentagon recently announced that it is repositioning ground-to-air radar and missile defenses near Hawaii in case North Korea decides to launch another long-range missile, this time toward the Aloha State. So at least 1.3 million Hawaiians will benefit from defenses that many officials in the current Administration didn't even want to build.

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My Comment: When the missile defense program started in the 1980s, critics labeled it as a waste of money .... and that it would produce negligible benefits. 25 years and 100 billion dollars later, the U.S. missile defense program has revolutionized missile technologies as well as non-ballistic anti-missile technologies, and it has changed the geopolitical landscape because of its preliminary successes and steady progress.

But even with this background, President Obama and his Congressional allies have made it very clear that they want the program dead. Will they succeed .... they are certainly a few steps away from a complete shutdown.