Gird your loins: Shields down
Don’t worry, be happy:
The Obama administration will scrap the controversial missile defense shield program in Eastern Europe, a senior administration official confirmed to CNN Thursday.
The U.S. has been testing the ability of ground-based interceptor missiles to hit long-range ballistic missiles.
The comment followed similar statements from officials in Poland and the Czech Republic — where key elements of the system were to be located — but was the first confirmation from an American official.
Vice President Joe Biden earlier refused to confirm to CNN that the George W. Bush-era plan was being shelved.
But he did explain the logic of doing so, saying Iran — a key concern for the United States — was not a threat.
“I think we are fully capable and secure dealing with any present or future potential Iranian threat,” he told CNN’s Chris Lawrence in Baghdad, where he is on a brief trip.
“The whole purpose of this exercise we are undertaking is to diminish the prospect of the Iranians destabilizing that region in the world. I am less concerned — much less concerned — about the Iranian potential. They have no potential at this moment, they have no capacity to launch a missile at the United States of America,” he said.
Biden said he is “deeply” involved in the review of the missile defense program.
The Bush administration had cited the perceived nuclear threat from Iran as one of the key reasons it wanted to install the missile shield in eastern Europe.
Via CNN.
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Categories: War
My fear is that history will repeat itself because so many people refuse to understand the consequences of their actions. Just like it did when some conservatives voted for Ross Perot to punish George Herbert Walker Bush because of his ‘no new taxes’ broken promise. Or whatever single issue at the time it was that they wanted to send a message to Bush, and damn the consequences. And the result was not a more conservative president in 4 years …. but 8 years of Bill Clinton, followed by Bush’s son being the next president. This whole matter should be painfully obvious for anyone with two eyes and a functional brain, and has nothing to do with ‘blindly following the GOP’ or whatever nonsense.
Why do we need Russian oil when we can “drill here, drill now”? [in best enviro-wagging voice] I’ll just bet the Russians aren’t using low-impact drilling methods…
Slow Joe does it again – Iran is no threat.
just think how you’re gonna feel when iran test-drives that long-range missile…
Didn’t Iran state they would have talks with the US about missiles and such, if we followed a list of certain demands? I’ll bet this was one of ‘em..
Good going B. Hussein.
MtsEdge said:
Most likely like I am now, go home, sit on the front porch and look at the farm across the way and have a Shiner Bock or 2 and thank god I can do this for now.
Thomas,
Those deck chairs look great. You want to head for a liferaft now?
SOTR, good point, we’re still the greatest country in the world – land of the free because of the brave…and I thank God every day, too…
What do you bet he’d elbow the women and children out of his way to get there first?
JD, I’m beginning to wonder if the Thomases of the world have any idea how insidious their perspective is. By voting for “close enough”, they wind up with “almost”, which becomes “interchangeable” with the other side.
I voted for the R ticket, largely b/c of Palin, but also to vote against marxism/fascism…I suppose Thomas would have approved of that. But it sickens me that Palin is more of an anomaly in the Repub party than the norm. She is one of a select few who seem to be able to take a principled stand, and even go to where the fight is, instead of waiting for it to come to them.
So, Thomas, what did you think of Palin?
It’s ok–the windmills will frighten them away.
When did leprechauns overtake zombies as the meme here?
chapoutier said:
When the Racists burned them out of their homes and built fires in their looted pots of gold.
People like Thomas will loudly proclaim that they aren’t “blindly following the GOP” even as they rant at conservatives who reject the GOP and those who blindly follow them. Then they talk about the irony of it all or how “obvious” the difference is…
If you vote for leftists/statists you will be governed by leftists/statists. In the end it doesn’t matter if these leftists/statists have a D or R after their name as they spend the nation into bankruptcy. Oops. They already did!
Boeing has developed a mobile version of the anti-ballistic missile missile. I’m just wondering if they’ve developed a mobile version of the radar system, too. According to what I heard on the radio this morning, we’re going to use ships, too. I mean, we already shot down a satellite from a destroyer near Alaska, didn’t we? (Sh-h-h-h-h-h-h-h! We don’t want to remind anyone that the Democrats opposed the development of that technology, too!)
BTW, we already have operational ABMs in Alaska.
The good thing about the change in plans is that it prevents the ground-based systems from being overrun and losing the technology in a ground war. The bad thing is that it makes us look like idiots and cowards.
Hope is not a plan; not all change is good. WE are the civilian national security force! Did ol’ Joe miss the IAEA report that Iran had the capability right now to build a “bomb?” The resistance is here; the resistance is now! RESIST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ECS
I beginning to wonder if Obama is hedging his bets.
If he can’t win on Obamacare, he might “encourage” a Russian health care take over.
You know why G-d created peat?
(staying on the Eire theme)
Excellent strategy from vice-president Biden. The Iranians have no capability to launch a missile at us so they are no threat. Therefore we can scrap our plans for a defense shield (missile interceptor) system in Eastern Europe. So, I guess that in the future: 1.)IMMEDIATELY upon detecting a missile launch from Iran directed at the United States, Congress will 2.)SPEEDILY convene to declare that the Iranians are a threat to the United States. Then, the president will 3.)RAPIDLY direct the Secretary of Defense to 4.)HURRIEDLY commence drawing up the plans for a missile defense shield which will then be 5.)QUICKLY bid out to contractors who will 6.)SUPERSONICALLY build and perfect the system which will then be 7.)SWIFTLY deployed to make America safe. Unfortunately, we will have one or more smoking holes in the U.S.A. shortly after the completion of step 2.
John D – Has Ireland ever been successfully attacked by the Russians? Does your whee-lo continue to function without fail?
C’mon man. Keep the faith.
chap,
Oh, you’ve got to keep an eye out for zombies, without a doubt. It’s just that the leprechauns are sneaky and are frequently in league with the Sandinistas.
Zombie leprechauns are what really worry me.
swede,
I wish I had your optimism. I guess I shouldn’t worry as long as the whee-lo hangs in there.
I think I just saw that movie.
Reality TV.
Does anybody know what we got in return for that?
And I can sleep better now – Slow Joe Biden says Iran is not a threat. And I was worried.
Ever hear of Neville Chamberlain?
While Poland is not exactly one of the real big boys, we could always count on them to be a good friend and ally. I don’t think that will hold true any longer, at least while the Obama administration is in control.
Dear God I hope they do not take away our kielbasa and perogies!
“Betrayal! The U.S. sold us to Russia and stabbed us in the back,” the Polish tabloid Fakt declared on its front page.
Nice going Genius!!
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Obama is looking like a bigger International doormat, sucker, and patsy than even Jimmy Carter.
Europe seems a strange location for an American missile shield. Instead of building missile shields all around the world, why not build one here, to intercept missiles from any location?
And c’mon. Iran a missile threat? More like a Photoshop threat! And as hard as they might try, you can’t destroy America with the “clone stamp” tool.
Watch for someone in the Administration to assert that the new system does not infringe U.S. obligations under the ABM Treaty formally set aside by the Bush Administration.