Gates: U.S. will partner with Russia on Iranian Missile Defense

Defense Secretary Robert Gates says that, “we are concerned about the Iranian missile threat and as long as that threat exists we will continue to pursue missile defense.” He goes on to say that, “we want to pursue it in partnership not only with our NATO allies but also with the Russians.”

Senator Levin active concerning Armed Services

Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) gave an overview of the goals of the Armed Services Committee during a news conference today. The Committee will focus on several non-budget items this year, and according to Levin the plan is still to take the troops out of Iraq within the next 16 months.

One of the items on the agenda is a move to place Afghan troops on the border and place the border patrol under the ministry of defense. Another major initiative will be to take on acquisition reform with focus on the overrun costs of 300 billion dollars, the oversights on wounded soldier legislation, and taking advantage of the lessons learned from using security contractors. According to Levin, it is time to face the reality that there have to be budget cuts.

Sen. Levin also discussed the potential for working with Russia on missile defense in order to create an alliance against Iran. He said that if Iran can see the U.S. and Russia coming together that he ”can't exaggerate the power of such an impact.”

Levin voiced concern over the amount of private sectors that are performing governmental functions. He also warned that we have to be careful to not "Americanize" the Afghan army, like we did with Iraq.

In regard to the William J. Lynn III nomination for Deputy Defense Secretary, Sen. Levin stated that additional information has been requested and he still supports the nomination. Levin said that there is a strict set of rules applied to nominees, and that Lynn is no exception.

by Suzia van Swol, University of New Mexico-Talk Radio News Service

How America defends itself

General Victor E. Renuart, Jr., gave a speech at the Brookings Institute about how the United States has restructured its homeland security and defense system for the 21st century. General Renuart is the commander of the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, and the United States Northern Command, or NORTHCOM.

Both NORAD and NORTHCOM work to establish a unity of command for homeland defense. NORAD is a joint organization with Canada that monitors the airspace in North America. NORTHCOM monitors the domains of sea, land, air, space, and cyberspace in North America and works with 50 states and 60 federal agencies to enforce homeland security.

NORTHCOM was created after 9/11, and works not only to protect and defend North America from foreign attacks, but also to respond to domestic crises such as fires and hurricanes. NORTHCOM also works with Mexico in helping to combat narco-terrorism. We don’t just command and control, said General Renuart, “we also collaborate and communicate...with multiple services and with the National Guard Bureau.”

FBI Director Confident Bureau is headed in the Right Direction

The House Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies interrogated FBI Director Robert Mueller on a number of issues pertaining to the progress of his department. Issues covered during the hearing were the FBI’s fiscal year 2009 budget request, the progress the FBI has made in counterintelligence, counterterrorism, and cyber security, and the methods the department uses to carry out their wide-spanning activities.

Mueller’s comments were met with both criticism and support by the members of Congress making up the panel conducting the hearing. The hearing was chaired by Congressman Obey (D-WI) who was particularly critical of the methodology used by the FBI to interrogate alleged criminals, and of the expensive budget Mueller hopes to receive.

Mueller’s defense of the large budget requested by the FBI was that the bureau needs money to recruit and train new employees, as well as to efficiently protect America. Director Mueller mentioned that the FBI is trying to crackdown on “white collar crime” and maintained that his department conducts its business legally.

25 years after "Star Wars," ballistic missiles still a threat

The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform held a hearing today to investigate the necessity of a ballistic missile defense system and assess the relative threats of conventional and non-conventional attack.

March 23 will mark the 25th anniversary of President Reagan's announcement of the now famous 'Star Wars' Anti-Ballistic Missile system. 120 billion has been spent on the project to date, now at a rate of nearly 10 billion a year, a rate projected to double in the coming years.

Ranking member Dan Burton (R-Ind.) stressed the potential for unseen threats and the need for a multi-faceted approach to security including missile defense.

Witness Joseph Cirincione, President of the Ploughshares Fund, emphasized the fact that the threat from ballistic missiles has decreased since the late 1980's both in number of missiles and number of countries with missiles by about 80%. He said many of the missiles that remain in the current count are in friendly hands, and most are "SCUD" type, or shorter range.

Baker Spring, an F.M. Kirby Research Fellow at the Heritage Foundation, claimed that we live in a 'multi-polar missile world' demanding a reworking of current ABM strategy to include space and sea based options and deal with threats from North Korea, Iran, and the potential for allied nations to pull the U.S. into conflict.

Steven Hildreth, a specialist in Defense and Foreign Affairs for the Congressional Research Service, stated that the technology and effort required to create ICBM's and ABM systems is so large that only 5 nations have ever succeeded, despite estimates of vast proliferation. He downplayed the likelihood of further nations going to such lengths and costs.

Dr. Steven Flynn, Senior Fellow for National Security Studies for the Council on Foreign Relations, reminded the committee that much more money is spent on protecting military bases than on protecting cities. The same is true of missile defense in relation to non conventional attacks. Such practices, he claims, provide incentive to strike in the latter fashion.