Whereas the Constitution of the United States imposes upon the national government a duty to “provide for the common defense,” and guarantees each state against attack,
Whereas the National Missile Defense Act of 1999 states it is the policy of the United States to deploy ballistic missile defenses capable of defending the territory of the United States against ballistic missile attack, whether accidental, unauthorized, or deliberate; and
Whereas the safety of the residents of (insert your state here) may depend on a robust, layered missile defense which can deter or intercept the launch of missiles from points near and far from American shores; and
Whereas the United States has recently begun to deploy a limited number of ground-based, midcourse interceptors in Alaska and California, an important first step towards fulfilling the constitutional requirement of providing for the common defense, and
Whereas [state], the United States, American armed forces, friends and allies at home and abroad are increasingly imperiled by the global proliferation of ballistic missiles and weapons of mass destruction,
Whereas the lack of an adequate defense adversely affects the freedom of action necessary to pursue those policies which best protect the people of the United States,
Whereas the state of [] views with growing concern the proliferation and buildup of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons of mass destruction and missile delivery systems for these weapons in the hands of hostile, potentially hostile, and unstable foreign regimes, thereby spreading the capabilities to deliver devastation with considerable speed, spectacle, and terror; and
Whereas Russia and China, obligations under the Non-Proliferation Treaty and other promises notwithstanding, continue to be sources of proliferation of nuclear and ballistic missile technology to a number of rogue states, including Iran, North Korea, and others, irrespective of whether such proliferation takes place with the express consent of the Russian and Chinese governments,
Whereas North Korea has clearly established its intention to proceed with the further development of its offensive ballistic missiles and nuclear armaments, either as instruments of blackmail and extortion or for operational deployment, thereby contravening all previous nonproliferation agreements and understandings, with the effect of threatening the security of South Korea, Japan, and the United States; and
Whereas Iran continues its ambitious ballistic missile and nuclear programs, which threaten American armed forces in the region, and our allies, including Israel; and
Whereas Libya’s example of voluntarily ending its nuclear and some missile programs will not necessarily be followed by other missile capable regimes hostile to the United States; and
Whereas the precarious Cold War policy of mutually assured destruction, assumed in arms control treaties of the past is insufficient to deter terrorist or rogue state missile attacks, the possibility that a missile bearing a weapon of mass destruction will be used against United States forces or interests is higher today than it was during most of the Cold War; and
Whereas the United States has withdrawn from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, a treaty with the now-extinct Soviet Union that prohibited effective American self-defense against ballistic missile attack, thereby removing the primary legal obstacle impeding the defense of the American populace,
Whereas the President of the United States has announced the deployment of a limited, ground-based missile defense system in 2004, which will be capable of defending against small attacks by long range interceptors launched from a few locations, such as North Korea,
Whereas the Alaska- and California-based systems have the capability to defend against a small attack by long range missiles launched from particular corners of the globe, but cannot defend against either larger attacks from anywhere, or even small attacks by short range missiles against any given state; and
Whereas the United States still does not possess, in particular, an effective defense against short-range or medium-range missiles launched by hostile states, by terrorist organizations within the borders of such states, or from ships anywhere on the world’s seas and oceans, including near the coastal cities of America; and the population of [STATE] therefore still remains vulnerable against such an attack; and
Whereas the twenty ground-based interceptors scheduled to be deployed by 2005 will not even be sufficient to defend against the intercontinental ballistic missiles which China currently admits to already having, to say nothing of Russia’s strategic arsenal; and
Whereas Russia and China have long been actively pursuing countermeasures and advanced reentry vehicles designed to overcome our ground-based interceptors, and regularly state the invulnerability of their missiles to the Alaska and California-based systems, and
Whereas the ingenuity and capabilities of American scientists and engineers is second to none, and all the technological resources necessary to provide for the common defense,
Whereas, sea- and space-based defenses are essential to intercepting ballistic missiles in their earliest boost-phase, when they are at their most vulnerable and countermeasures are ineffective, and Whereas the September 11 Commission pointed out that a chief failure leading to the September 11 attacks was a “failure of imagination,”
The State of [] asserts its leadership as one of 50; be it now therefore resolved,
That the state of [] supports the President of the United States in directing the considerable scientific and technological capabilities of this nation and in taking all actions necessary to protect all fifty states and their residents, our allies and our Armed Forces abroad from the threat of missile attack; and be it further resolved,
That the state of [] urges the Congress of the United States to support and vote for all efforts to build and deploy all necessary further missile defense systems which are capable of defending against any ballistic missile threat whatsoever, and for the deployment of such defenses as soon as possible; and be it further resolved,
That the state of [] conveys to the President and Congress of the United States that a missile defense system, capable of defending against ballistic missiles of any range launched from anywhere will require the deployment of a robust, multi-layered architecture consisting of integrated land-based, sea-based and space-based capabilities to deter evolving future threats from missiles as weapons of mass destruction and to meet and destroy them when necessary; and be it further resolved,
That such a robust and layered defense should be capable of intercepting a ballistic missile at all points during its flight, with especial emphasis in its most vulnerable boost phase; and be it further resolved,
That the United States continue its work with friends and allies to stem the flow and sanction the sources of missile and proliferation; and be it further resolved,
That the United States should ambitiously study the threat posed by all countries, and upgrade our missile defenses to be able to defend against any attack from any country or alliance of countries; and be it further resolved,
That the President of the United States and the United States Congress should plan for and provide funding for a missile defense system which will be capable of defending against the near term threat of ship-launched short- or medium-range ballistic missiles; and be it further resolved,
That the Members of the Legislature appeal to the President and Congress of the United States to plan and fully fund a more ambitious missile defense system that would employ the latest technological advances but do so for the purpose of a near term deployment against any conceivable ballistic missile attack; and be it further resolved,
That copies of this resolution shall be sent to the President of the United States; Vice President of the United States and President of the U.S. Senate; the majority leader, and the minority leader of the United States Senate; the speaker and minority leader of the United States House of Representatives; each member of this state’s Congressional delegation; and to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, so that all may be apprised of the sense of the State of [] in this matter.
Copyright © 2004 Claremont Institute, 937 West Foothill Blvd. Suite E, Claremont CA 91711 (http://www.claremont.org). All rights reserved. The Claremont Institute is a 501(c)(3) foundation. Nothing in this document should be construed as an attempt to aid or hinder the passage of any bill before the State Legislature or the U.S. Congress.
