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**TASK FORCE ON TERRORISM &**

**UNCONVENTIONAL WARFARE**

Number range CHAPTER**U.S. House of Representatives**

**Washington, D.C. 20515**

**ERIC CANTOR, Virginia**

**CHAIRMAN**

May 1, 2007

**[In the Face of Growing Threats,]{.underline}**

**[Congress Must Not Cut Missile Defense]{.underline}**

**[Introduction]{.underline}**

As the Iron Curtain came tumbling down, a dangerous illusion took hold
in the collective American mindset that we could ensure our national
security without having a defensive capability to intercept enemy
missiles. Policymakers, influenced by the notion of Mutual Assured
Destruction (MAD), believed that as long as America remained a
superpower with awesome military strength, no enemy would attack us for
fear of devastating retaliation.

This mirage blew up into a plume of thick black smoke on September 11,
when terrorists hijacked airplanes full of innocent people and flew them
into our twin symbols of freedom. Our attackers were deterred neither by
the threat of American military retaliation nor death. In an instant, it
became clear that we face a growing and lethal threat from terrorists
and the symbiotic relationship they share with rogue states. This is a
new enemy willing in many instances to sacrifice its land and people to
do us harm.

In 2002, the United States abandoned the outdated 1972 Anti-Ballistic
Missile treaty. The agreement - forged with the Soviets - limited our
ability to pursue and set up ballistic missile defense systems.
President Bush acted on his recognition that meeting the threat posed by
rogue regimes and terror groups required an effective missile defense
web.

Since then we have made great strides in developing missile defense
capabilities, although we are still vulnerable.

Meanwhile, rogue states like Iran and North Korea have seized on the
proliferation of ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons. Today, the
illicit work is continuing at an even faster pace. **In the face of
mounting threats,** **we must aggressively invest in our mission to
develop, deploy and improve our missile defense systems. Now is not the
time to cut funding from an area so vital to our national security.
Congress has the unmistakable duty to fully fund the defenses necessary
to protect the American people.**

**[The General Threat]{.underline}**

Rogue regimes like Iran and North Korea are in hot pursuit of ballistic
missiles that would enable them to harm the United States and its
allies. In addition, a host of unstable U.S. allies in the Middle East,
such as Pakistan and Egypt, possess advanced ballistic missiles that
have the potential of falling into the hands of terrorist groups. More
than 20 countries currently have ballistic missiles, and since 2002
there has been an average of 90 foreign ballistic missiles launched
every year.

Last summer's Lebanon War provides a glimpse of the danger posed by
rogue regimes working hand-in-glove with terrorist regimes. The
Hezbollah terrorist organization, armed to the teeth by Iran, rained
thousands of rockets upon Israel. While most of the rockets were
relatively crude and had a limited range, the experience shows that Iran
is eager to finance deadly terrorist operations. Most recently, allied
forces discovered in Afghanistan a shipment of Iranian-made weapons
bound for the Taliban. To be sure, the threat is real and continues to
aggressively spread.

Our enemy is determined to counter or remove U.S. influence in various
regions. It is therefore imperative that we deploy a layered and robust
missile defense capable of thwarting any missile attack on our nation or
our allies. Even if a rogue state opted not to attack the United States
or pass along the technology to a terrorist group, the lack of a U.S.
defense provides them the leverage for coercion.

**[North Korean Threat]{.underline}**

North Korea is the most irresponsible and dangerous country already in
possession of nuclear weapons. Leader Kim Jong-Il uses his nuclear and
ballistic missile program to protect his feeble regime, bully North
Korea's neighbors and extract concessions from the West. His regime
boasts missiles capable of delivering a nuclear payload around the
world. In a provocative act directed at the United States, North Korea
used the July 4 holiday last year to test fire the Taepo Dong-2
inter-continental ballistic missile. North Korea, however, is not
motivated by the same religiously-inspired visions of regional dominance
that we see with Iran. It's highly unlikely that the North Koreans would
engage in a nuclear strike on the United States if it meant the
destruction of their own country. Still, our close allies Japan and
South Korea are both highly vulnerable to a North Korean assault. It
also is very possible that Kim Jong-Il's weak and cash-strapped regime
would sell weapons or technology to Islamic terrorists to make a few
extra bucks.

![](media/image2.png){width="2.879861111111111in"
height="1.9715277777777778in"}Despite encouraging signs that North Korea
is making moves to eradicate its nuclear program, deception is a second
language to Kim. Iranian officials are also working overtime to strike a
deal giving them access to North Korea's nuclear expertise. As North
Korea's missile development shows no signs of abating, we should expect
the range and effectiveness of North Korean missiles to continue to
increase. Missiles include:

-   **Scud-B** and **Scud-C** - Are both short-range missiles with
    ranges of 300 km and 500 km, respectively. While the Scud-B puts the
    majority of South Korea within range, the Scud-C exposes all of it.

-   [^1]**No Dong --** A short-range missile with a range of 1,300 km.
    This missile is an improved Scud that has the ability to reach all
    of South Korea as well as most of the Japanese population centers.
    North Korea brazenly tested the No Dong over Japan in May 1993 as
    well as July 2006.

-   ![](media/image3.png){width="2.9166666666666665in"
    height="2.625in"}**Taepo Dong-2** -- An Inter-Continental Ballistic
    Missile with a range of 10,000 km in its second stage and 15,000 km
    in its third. In its second stage, this missile could reach Texas,
    Missouri and Michigan. In its third, the entirety of the United
    States would be at risk. On July 4, 2006, the North Koreans tested
    the missile, which failed shortly after its launch.

-   North Korea is believed to be developing an Intermediate-Range
    Ballistic Missile, with a range exceeding 3,200 km.

**[The Iranian Threat]{.underline}**

![](media/image4.jpeg){width="3.8715277777777777in"
height="3.4555555555555557in"} An Iranian terrorist regime in possession
of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles with the ability to reach our
friends and allies, our troops deployed in Europe, and our own homeland
represents perhaps the greatest threat to human civilization. Iran is
the world's largest financier and enabler of terrorism. Guided by
religious fanaticism, it is determined to refashion the Middle East in
its own radical image. Its leaders deny the Holocaust and threaten to
"wipe" our ally Israel "off the map." They also speak brazenly about a
nuclear exchange with Israel in order to hasten an end-of-days scenario.
President Ahmadinajad asserted on Iranian television, \"And you, for
your part, if you would like to have good relations with the Iranian
nation in the future, recognize the Iranian nation\'s right. Recognize
the Iranian nation\'s greatness. And bow down before the greatness of
the Iranian nation and surrender. If you don\'t accept \[to do this\],
the Iranian nation will later force you to surrender and bow down.\"
Iran is dangerous and unpredictable. It is clear that Iran has the will
to cause devastation of unimaginable proportions to the United States
and our allies. The only way to make this a reality, however, is for
Iran to match its will with the right capability.

On missile development, Iran continues to work very closely with North
Korea and other nations. As Iran grows bolder by the day, it would be
foolish not to prepare a defense against its offensive capabilities.
Iran has tested current variations of medium-range ballistic missiles
that have ranges able to threaten Eastern Europe, Israel, the U.S. and
allied bases in the Persian Gulf, and could have long-range missiles
before 2015.

Missiles include:

-   [^2]**Shahab-3** -- A medium-range ballistic missile with a range of
    1,300 km. Based on the North Korean No Dong, this missile can strike
    Israel or Saudi Arabia. The extended version of this missile has a
    range of 1,900 km.

-   **Scud-B** and **Scud-C** (see North Korean scuds).

-   Development of a new medium-range ballistic missile with a range of
    1,900 km.

-   Development of intercontinental ballistic missile capable of
    reaching the United States. Will likely be ready before 2015.

**[The Chinese Threat]{.underline}**

The United States is dependent on space assets for
intelligence-gathering and military operations as well as everyday
commercial use. Our space-based satellites provide automated
reconnaissance and mapping, track fleet and troop movements, give
accurate positions of U.S. and enemy forces, and guide missiles and
unmanned aircrafts to their targets. Satellites also help predict the
weather and provide the average American with day-to-day commercial use
of cell phones, pagers, BlackBerrys, and other wireless devices. Because
the United States depends on space more than any other nation, it is
also our "Achilles heel" and will remain a target for potential
adversaries. China's aggressive mission to gain space power was on
display January 12, 2007, when it destroyed an inactive Chinese weather
satellite in a successful anti-satellite (ASAT) weapons test. It has
been estimated that the collision created tens of thousands of fragments
wider than 1 cm. Those fragments 3 cm or larger, according to Maj. Gen.
William L. Shelton, are capable of wiping out our spacecraft.

All of this was caused by a mere 'test'. It is therefore critical that
the United States maintain our access to space and that our assets have
a sufficient defense against rising threats.

**[National Ballistic Missile Defense System]{.underline}**

The Missile Defense Agency's goal is to integrate into a seamless web
various radars, tracking systems, satellites, sensors, missile launchers
and missile interceptors located around the world on land, sea and
space. An effective defense would allow us to take out short, medium and
long range rogue ballistic missiles in all three stages of flight, which
include the boost (beginning of flight), midcourse and terminal (end of
flight). The good news is that, despite efforts by some of our
colleagues to paint missile defense as a fantastical and unrealistic
undertaking, we are well on our way to success. Since 2002, MDA has
translated healthy budgets into remarkable progress in development,
fielding and sustainment.

The U.S. missile defense system has proven effective through repeated
testing. Since 2001 the Missile Defense Agency has had 27 successful
missile intercepts; sixteen of the last seventeen flight tests have been
successful. Some of the most recent successes included the following:

Aegis, the maritime layer of our layered missile system, just recently
completed its eighth successful flight test in April 2007.

The Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), designed to intercept a
SCUD missile, successfully intercepted a SCUD-like target in April 2007.

On March 15, 2007, the Airborne Laser (ABL), designed to intercept
missiles in their boost phase of flight, successfully completed an in
flight test of the laser targeting system.

Also, in a little over 2 years the Missile Defense Agency has placed 17
Ground-Based Interceptors in Alaska and California. When the North
Koreans tested their ICBM last July, the ballistic missile defense
system was tracking the missile and would have been able to intercept it
had it not failed so early. Two months later, the United States
successfully intercepted a long-range missile we had launched from
Alaska.

To intercept potential missiles from North Korea, our ballistic missile
defense system has interceptors in California and Alaska. On the Iranian
and Middle East front, the government is vigorously pursuing agreements
with the Czech and Polish governments to install radar systems and
ground based missile batteries, respectively.

Right now our country is developing ways on land, sea and space to more
adequately address the threat. The American people deserve to be
protected from the growing threat and this noble endeavor must be
sufficiently funded. There is no price too high to save 300 million
American lives.

**Eric Cantor Terry Everett Trent Franks Doug Lamborn**

**Member of Congress Member of Congress Member of Congress Member of
Congress**

[^1]: Graphics Provided by MDA

[^2]: Graphics Provided by MDA