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Boom Goes the Dynamite on the Bush Third Site By Kingston on 2009-09-17 13:51:01 By Kingston Reif and Travis Sharp Big news on the missile defense front today. The Obama administration announced [http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125317801774419047.html] that it is abandoning the Bush administration's plan to deploy a radar and ten long-range interceptors in Eastern Europe, which were designed to protect Europe and the United States from long-range missile threats from Iran that do not currently exist. Instead, the Obama administration plans to deploy technically proven SM-3 interceptors, at first based on Aegis destroyers and later based from ground-based sites, which are designed to counter the more immediate threat posed by Iranian short- and medium-range missiles. We’ve pasted our full response below the jump. It can also be found at the Center’s website here [http://www.armscontrolcenter.org/policy/missiledefense/articles/091709_obamas_european_defense/]. A few highlights: “The decision to revamp the missile defense plan in Europe is based on technological reality rather than rigid ideology,” said John Isaacs, executive director of the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation. “The Obama administration’s proposal is a better choice for U.S. and European security.”… “The proposed interceptors for Poland have not even been built, much less tested. The Obama administration is killing an idea, not a program, and replacing it with a more technologically-promising system,” remarked Lt. Gen. Robert Gard, chairman of the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation.…“The U.S. security commitment to Poland and the Czech Republican remains as steadfast as ever,” added Isaacs. “Framing this decision, which was based on technical factors, as a litmus test of whether the United States is committed to Eastern Europe or willing to stand up to Russia represents a fundamental misunderstanding of the situation.” I'm sure we'll have more to say on this news in the coming hours and days, particularly as the push-back against the President's decision becomes more and more unhinged. For now let's quickly address one attack that is gaining some steam in the conservative blogosphere. Both Rich Lowry over at [http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=ZDY0ZmFlNzA2ZmFhYWY2OGRiNjBiYTFhMGRlZWM3YzQ=] the Corner and Michael Goldfarb over at [http://weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TWSFP/TWSFPView.asp] the Weekly Standard are quoting the following passage from Obama's Prague speech as if it's evidence that today's decision represents a major "flip flop" on Obama's part: So let me be clear: Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile activity poses a real threat, not just to the United States, but to Iran's neighbors and our allies. The Czech Republic and Poland have been courageous in agreeing to host a defense against these missiles. As long as the threat from Iran persists, we will go forward with a missile defense system that is cost-effective and proven. If the Iranian threat is eliminated, we will have a stronger basis for security, and the driving force for missile defense construction in Europe will be removed. We don't see how today's announcement betrays what Obama said in Prague. At no point did he commit to moving forward with the Bush administration’s proposal. He pledged to move forward with “a system that is cost-effective and proven.” The Bush administration’s proposed system was neither. Read more at http://www.nukesofhazardblog.com/story/2009/9/17/13511/2229

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