U.S. Senate Challenges President Obama With Missile Defense Vote

/PRNewswire/ -- Riki Ellison, President and Chairman of the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance (MDAA), www.missiledefenseadvocacy.org has reviewed the missile defense vote in the Senate on Tuesday, October 6th, and concluded that the Senate wants to keep open the option for developing and potentially basing the ground-based interceptor in either Europe or the U.S. He informed MDAA members of this in an Alert . His comments and observations include the following:

"Last night, Members of the United States Senate passed, with overwhelming support, an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act, directing Lt. General Patrick O'Reilly, Director of the Missile Defense Agency, to provide options by February 1st next year to deploy an additional Ground-Based Interceptor site in Europe or the United States to provide defense for our nation against future long-range missiles from Iran. The Amendment SA 2616, further appropriated $151 million for the development and testing of the two-stage Ground-Based Interceptor, which was developed for the recently canceled European missile defense site, at Redzikowo, Poland. This two-stage Ground-Based Interceptor missile is in place as two are built and one of them is due to be launched and tested next June, as there remains 'high-confidence' in its capability, since it is exactly the same technology as the currently deployed three-stage Ground-Based Interceptor without the third stage."

"This is a positive first step by our nation's congressional representatives to address the lack of equal and adequate long range missile protection to our Eastern and Southeastern regions of our nation from Iran that was not adequately addressed in President Obama's 'new missile defense architecture.' In President Obama's plan, equal long-range missile protection of the United States from Iran would be provided by a sea- and land-based, non-existent and untested SM-3 Block-2 missile starting in 2020. In addition, these future mobile SM-3 interceptors with ICBM capability have recently become controversial with Russia as they will be deployed in mass, suggesting a diplomatic possibility that they may not be deployed. To provide a 'hedge' against Iran ballistic missile development, President Obama needs to rapidly accelerate the SM-3 Block 2 missile development and provide an additional ground-based missile defense site with interceptors in the United States or Europe."

"It should be noted that two years ago, the Combat Commander of NORTHCOM General Renuart, who is directly responsible for the protection of the United States, including Hawaii and Alaska, completed a NORTHCOM GBI study to look at other alternatives to the recently canceled site in Poland to provide adequate long-range missile defense to North America. This study concluded and recommended that a previous Nike Zeus missile defense site of the 1960's at Fort Drum located in upper New York was the most preferable option. A missile defense site at Fort Drum, New York would provide the necessary 'high confidence' and equal protection to the Eastern and Southeastern United States from a long-range ballistic missile threat from Iran that is not in place today. Having a site located in the United States in a previous missile location would lower the risk, expedite the deployment and provide added necessary long-range protection to the United States within three years from now, seven years or more faster than the current missile defense architecture plan announced by Secretary of Defense Gates and President Obama."

Ellison closed his remarks saying: "We at MDAA concur with the Members of the Senate who drafted this amendment and all those who overwhelmingly voted for it."

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U.S. Approves of Pakistan Fight Against Taliban, Pentagon Spokesman Says

The United States fully supports Pakistani operations against the Taliban and other terror groups, a senior Defense Department spokesman said yesterday.

At a news conference today, Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell also discussed U.S. efforts to avoid inflicting civilian casualties in Afghanistan while fighting an enemy that intentionally places civilians in peril.

The United States has been pressing Pakistan for months to act as Taliban fighters increased their control over portions of the federally administered tribal areas and in the Swat Valley, Buner and Dir areas of Pakistan.

Morrell called the operations in the area the largest counterinsurgency fight in Pakistan's history. "They have shown a persistence in waging it, and we want to be nothing but encouraging of them continuing to do so," he said during a Pentagon news conference.

Pakistani officials estimate that between 800,000 and 900,000 people in the region have become refugees. "The end is to protect innocent civilians caught in the crossfire," Morrell said. "So people are encouraged to leave war zones, so that they do not become unwitting victims of the Pakistani military's efforts to go after terrorists who have shown complete and utter disregard for the safety and well-being of their neighbors and other innocent civilians in their midst."

Pakistan is setting up refugee camps to handle those fleeing the fighting, and the United States and other nations are prepared to send aid.

In Afghanistan, civilian casualties in Farah remain in the news. Afghan President Hamid Karzai and U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry visited an area where close-air support was used against Taliban terrorists when U.S. aircraft dropped ordnance in support of an Afghan security forces operation.

"The initial indication from things looks as though the close-air support was very measured, and that there was a great deal of care to ensure that ... it was proportional to the threat faced by the forces on the ground," Morrell said.

Morrell called the attacks – and possible civilian casualties – the sad reality of war against the Taliban.

"We face an opponent that shows complete and utter disregard for human life; that's willing to behead innocent civilians; that's willing to put other innocents in harm's way so that they can advance a propaganda campaign and paint us as ... the aggressor, as the one who does not care for the well-being of the Afghan people," he said. "That couldn't be further from the truth."

The United States regrets the loss of any innocent lives in Farah or other battles, Morrell said. No other military takes the measures to minimize civilian losses that the U.S. military does, he said.

"And our opponent, perhaps more than almost any enemy that we've faced in modern times, shows complete and utter disregard" for civilian lives.

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

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Muslim Publics Oppose Al Qaeda's Terrorism, But Agree With Its Goal of Driving U.S. Forces Out

/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A study of public opinion in predominantly Muslim countries reveals that very large majorities continue to renounce the use of attacks on civilians as a means of pursuing political goals. People in majority-Muslim countries express mixed feelings about al Qaeda and other Islamist groups that use violence, however, perhaps due to a combination of support for al Qaeda's goals and disapproval of its terrorist methods.

Large majorities support allowing Islamist groups to organize parties and participate in democratic elections. In some majority-Muslim countries, Islamist groups, such as the Muslim Brotherhood, are forbidden from participating in elections.

Steven Kull, director of WorldPublicOpinion.org, comments, "The U.S. faces a conundrum. U.S. efforts to fight terrorism with an expanded military presence in Muslim countries appear to have elicited a backlash and to have bred some sympathy for al Qaeda, even as most reject its methods."

The survey is part of an ongoing study of Egypt, Pakistan, and Indonesia, with additional polling in Turkey, Jordan, the Palestinian territories, Azerbaijan, and Nigeria. It was conducted July through September, 2008 by WorldPublicOpinion.org with support from the START Consortium at the University of Maryland. Margins of error range from +/- 3 to 4 percent.

In nearly all nations polled more than seven in 10 say they disapprove of attacks on American civilians. "Bombings and assassinations that are carried out to achieve political or religious goals" are rejected as "not justified at all" by large majorities ranging from 67 to 89 percent. There is a growing belief that attacks on civilians are ineffective, with approximately half now saying that such attacks are hardly ever effective.

Asked specifically about the U.S. naval forces based in the Persian Gulf, there is widespread opposition across the Muslim world. Opposition is largest in Egypt (91%) and among the Palestinians (90%), but opposition is also large in America's NATO ally Turkey (77%).

Views of al Qaeda are complex. Majorities agree with nearly all of al Qaeda's goals to change U.S. behavior in the Muslim world, to promote Islamist governance, and to preserve and affirm Islamic identity. However only minorities say they approve of al Qaeda's attacks on Americans.

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Pelosi Statement on House Resolution on Gaza

/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Speaker Nancy Pelosi spoke on the House floor this morning in support of H.Res 34, which recognizes Israel's right to defend itself against attacks from Gaza, reaffirms the United States' strong support for Israel, and supports the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Below are the Speaker's remarks:

"Mr. Speaker, the resolution before the House underscores the more than 60-year commitment of the United States to the security of Israel.

"I proudly sponsor this resolution and I thank the other original co-sponsors of this legislation, including House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman, Ranking Member Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and Republican Leader John Boehner, as well as the many Members who have voiced their support for this measure and for the State of Israel.

"Today, we reaffirm that Israel, like any nation, has a right to self-defense when under attack. The rocket and mortar attacks from Gaza, which were increasing in frequency and range, constituted an unacceptable security threat to which Israel had a responsibility to respond.

"All of us regret the loss of life, injury, and destruction of property of innocent civilians that has occurred on both sides of the conflict. When I spoke with Prime Minister Olmert last week, I made clear our concerns about the loss of life among civilians. We must do all we can to relieve the pain of the innocents and to bring about a real peace that will avoid further loss of life on both sides.

"If we are to achieve a real peace, we must begin with a ceasefire to the current conflict, which is why this resolution calls for the Bush Administration to work toward that end. But a ceasefire must do more than just end the current fighting -- it must address some of the root causes of the conflict so we may attain a peace that is, in the words of this resolution, 'durable and sustainable.'

"Security for Israel and an improvement in the lives of the people of Gaza cannot be achieved as long as Hamas uses that impoverished land as a launching pad for attacks against Israelis.

"The goal of any ceasefire must be more than a return to the status quo; it must be a positive and measurable step toward a final, just resolution of the differences between Palestinians and Israelis. Our goal must be to achieve an agreement between Palestinians and Israelis that results in a secure Israel living side-by-side with a viable and independent Palestinian state -- and with both finding peace and prosperity.

"The cycle of violence that feeds the fury of despair must be broken; the hard work of negotiation must be done; and the difficult but necessary decisions made so that such an agreement can be achieved.

"The United States must be an active, constant, and engaged partner in this effort. With the new energy and fresh thinking of the new Administration, we pray that an enduring settlement can be reached.

"From the moment in 1947 that President Harry Truman took the bold step of recognizing the state of Israel to this very day, America has stood and will continue to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our democratic ally in the Middle East."

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