Sen. Murkowski responds to President Obama's Missile Defense Reversal
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today made the following statement regarding President Obama’s decision to drop the Bush administration’s plan for a missile defense shield in Eastern Europe.
“For the second time this year the Obama administration has reversed course on previous decisions to protect the American homeland and our allies from long range missile threats. I’m deeply disappointed. The threat environment from Iran and North Korea continues to rise. Yet the administration is unwilling to implement proven technology with the flexibility to intercept missiles launched from anywhere in the world to address the threat. They’ve demonstrated no willingness to revisit their decision to cap the number of missiles at Fort Greely.
“Today, they backed away from our Nation’s commitment to protect Europe and the eastern United States from the threat of long range missiles. I just don’t understand the message they are trying to send. To rogue states that are building their offensive nuclear capabilities the message from our Pentagon signals vacillation. To our allies in the former Soviet satellites, such as Poland and the Czech Republic, the message is ‘don’t count on the United States for consistency in our strategy for your defense. When it comes to missile defense our resolve seems to turn on a dime. Regrettable, very regrettable.”
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