November 12, 2007 :: Defense News :: Analysis
Writing for The Hill, Congressman Trent Franks responds to the recent change of heart on the need to build a missile defense system in Eastern Europe by Congresswoman Ellen Tauscher, chair of the House Armed Services Strategic Forces subcommittee. Previously, in Washington and on a congressional trip to the Czech Republic, Tauscher had supported the missile defense system in Europe to defend against a limited missile attack from Iran. "The U.S. intelligence community's current estimate is that Iran is five to 10 years away from developing such a capability...plainly, this is a very serious threat about which we must be vigilant... A GMD system deployed in Europe could help deter a potential Iranian long-range ballistic missile threat if one emerges."
While the Strategic Forces subcommittee did cut some of the funds directed to the site, Tauscher was careful to note, "We did not say no. What we said is we have fiscal priorities...We encourage the talks to continue...we are dealing on a margin of weeks and months. Not years." She stated that once Poland and the Czech Republic ratified the agreement, the two countries could expect a receptive and cooperative Congress.
Franks was "disturbed," however, by Tauscher's subsequent and abrupt change on the issue. Writing in the November 8 edition of Defense News, Tauscher called on the U.S. Missile Defense Agency to "work harder at protecting deployed U.S. troops against current missile threats with proven technology and ‘pull-back' from science projects such as the European missile defense site."
From this Franks concludes:
I look forward to seeing the final marks for the defense authorization bill, and in particular, the language associated with the European Site. There is so much at stake here. As I have said before, missile defense is not only our last line of defense for an incoming ballistic missile, it is also our first line of defense to counter missile proliferation because it devalues these weapons as offensive military assets, which may ultimately keep nuclear technology in general out of the hands of terrorist-friendly nations. It is my hope Ms. Tauscher both substantiates her claims to support this critical defense initiative, and helps to lead our colleagues during conference to support our allies in Poland and the Czech Republic.
(Article)
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