Missile Defense System Needed Urgently

Iran will have an operational intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) "in a couple of years," an analyst predicted, while noting that Iran also is working toward building a nuclear weapon.

"Iran is working to expand its capability so it can hit the United States" with "a true ballistic missile," said Ilan Berman, vice president for policy with the American Foreign Policy Council. He spoke at a panel forum of The Heritage Foundation, a Washington think tank.

Iran already has placed a payload into near space for two or three minutes, and is pursuing a space program that would provide as well the technology required for an ICBM, Berman noted.

"Iran is working on an ICBM capability" that still is "a couple of years away," Berman said.

As far as moving to produce a nuclear weapon, "Iran is moving very quickly," he said. The International Atomic Energy Agency just stated that Iran now has enough nuclear material to fashion one atomic bomb. (Please see full story in this issue.)

With Iran about to wield the bomb, it is critical that the United States and its allies be protected by a missile defense system, according to Sally McNamara, senior policy analyst with the Heritage.

"Missile defense is incredibly important" in this situation, she said. "The U.S. [European Missile Defense, or EMD] system offers substantial protection to Europe, and to the United States, too."

If President-elect Obama cancels the EMD system, just as Russia is threatening to destroy it if it is built, Obama will look weak, she said.

Rather, Obama should make a point of deciding to build the EMD, and issue that decision soon, she said.

While some Democrats are poised to slash funding for missile defense programs, there is no monolithic Democratic position here, according to Mario Loyola, foreign and defense policy counsel with the U.S. Senate Republican Policy Committee.

For example, he said, "a strong proponent of missile defense" is Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Further, Loyola noted, a huge $100 billion already has been spent on missile defense systems, and some systems already are built and deployed, meaning they have momentum and significant political support.

With the still-developing Airborne Laser (ABL), a moment of truth is approaching, Loyola noted, when the ABL next year will attempt to shoot down a target missile for the first time.

That is a critical test, he noted. But even if the ABL is successful, that victory won’t sway Democrats who are "religiously opposed" to the ABL, he said.

The ABL involves a heavily modified 747-400 jumbo jet aircraft contributed by prime contractor The Boeing Co. [BA] on which is mounted a Northrop Grumman Corp. [NOC] laser system and a Lockheed Martin Corp. [LMT] beam control/fire control system.

ABL kills enemy missiles in their most vulnerable phase of flight, just after liftoff, before they have the opportunity to emit multiple warheads, decoys or confusing chaff.