US Promises to Fully Fund Israeli Missile Defense System, While Cutting Its Own

Even as Secretary of Defense Robert Gates was being raked over the coals in Congress for the decision to cut funding to America’s missile defense systems, Israeli defense officials have revealed that Israel’s own Arrow 3 missile defense system will be “fully funded” by the United States yet again this year.

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Czechs Don't Want US Anti-Missile Shield

There was little coverage here when Czech parliamentarians went on hunger strike earlier this year. Representing 70% of the Czech people, they were objecting to a base in the Czech Republic as part of the American missile defence programme. Like most Europeans, they believe that missile defence makes Europe – including the UK– less safe, not more. Indeed, polls have shown that less than a quarter of Britons disagree that missile defence involvement puts Britain on the front line.

This Czech base would be linked to another in neighbouring Poland, designed to house ten interceptor missiles as part of the same shield. Forty more missiles are being sited at Fort Greeley in Alaska, and yet more at the Ronald Reagan missile base in California.

On top of this deployment, it is proposed to settle another one hundred and thirty interceptor rockets on naval vessels. Ultimately, the United States Department of Defense plans to incorporate space-based, laser, and high altitude elements to this shield, in line with their military doctrine of full-spectrum dominance.

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