Will Barack Obama Continue Missile Defense?

Will newly elected President Barack Obama continue with the missile defense system first proposed during the Reagan Administration but flourished under President George W. Bush?

Likely says this piece in Time Magazine.

President George W. Bush promised to build a “Star Wars” missile shield, and he has kept that promise — even if there is no guarantee if the shield works or that it increases security. There has indeed been much Democratic derision focused on what has mostly been seen as a Republican program, one that has been lavished with $100 billion since Ronald Reagan called for such a shield at the height of the Cold War in 1983.

But even in a Democratic-run Pentagon the push for missile defense is going to continue. If Obama keeps Defense Secretary Robert Gates on, as some advisers are arguing he should, that would come as no surprise. “Russia has nothing to fear from a defensive missile shield,” Gates said Thursday as he argued for extending the system to Europe. The current plan is to place 10 missile interceptors in Poland and a missile-tracking radar in the Czech Republic by 2014. It’s strongly opposed by Russia, which views it as an unwelcome military threat in a region where it has always been pre-eminent. The other leading contender for the Pentagon post is Richard Danzig, a Clinton Navy secretary, who recently told reporters that the Obama team has “a strong view that national missile defense is a rewarding area and should be invested in.”

With Iran and North Korea beating the drums of a nefarious missile offense, it would be foolish for an Obama Administration to scale back a “DEFENSIVE” system which would discourage hostilities from these rogue states.

Plus, there are the issues of a resurgent, bellicose Russia with their large contingent of land based nuclear tipped missiles and an emerging China which has already demonstrated hostility towards the United States in space.

Now, whether Obama extends the misslie shield to Europe, may be one of his first national security calls. And, should Obama change direction, acquiesces to Russian demands and then Europe is blackmailed by Iran and/or Russia, the Bay of Pigs of John Kennedy may translate over to “The One.”

Flap bets he makes some pronouncements and superficial cuts to mollify some lefty Democrats and then supplements the apporpriation in his “BLACK” (Secret) budget.

Stay tuned…..