Flaws Discovered In U.S. Missile Defense System

[Purveyor]

WASHINGTON — Secret Defense Department studies cast doubt on whether a multibillion-dollar missile defense system planned for Europe can ever protect the U.S. from Iranian missiles as intended, congressional investigators say.

Military officials say they believe they can overcome the problems and are moving forward with plans. But proposed fixes could prove difficult. One possibility has been ruled out as technically unfeasible. A second, relocating missile interceptors planned for Poland and possibly Romania to ships on the North Sea, could be diplomatically troublesome.

The studies are the latest to highlight serious problems for a plan that has been criticized on several fronts.

Republicans claim it was developed hastily in an attempt to appease Russia, which had opposed an earlier system. But Russia is also critical of the plan, which it believes is really intended to counter its missiles. A series of governmental and scientific reports has raised questions about whether it would ever work as planned.

At a time that the military faces giant budget cuts, the studies could lead Congress to reconsider whether it is worthwhile to spend billions for a system that may not fulfill its original goals.

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http://lubbockonline.com/national-news/2013-02-10/flaws-discovered-us-missile-defense-system#.URkO3R0RQWc

[Robb]

1. Engineering as diplomatic dialogue.

The perceived efficacy of the system is a huge part of Russia's reaction to it.

[rgbecker]

2. The NSA, sure of the Iranians' plans to invade and conquer Poland and Romania sell Congress on...

spending their grandmother's social security funds on anti-missile missiles for ex soviet block countries.

Gotta love it.

[libtodeath]

3. This idea has been a waste of billions all the way back to rayguns star wars nonsense

[longship]

4. like tryin to hit a bullet with a smaller bullet while wearing a blindfold riding a horse

That is why missile defense is a chimera, is moonshine. It's just the wet dream of Republicans who worship Reagan who first made the remark on it.

Plus, as anyone could tell you, missile defense is incredibly destabilizing. When you spend $5 to defend against something that costs $1, all the aggressor has to do is build more of the $1 item to overwhelm the $5 items. Plus, it's just not economically sustainable.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

5. Kill this and the F-35, and tada! no more budget crisis.

[Auntie Bush]

6. So now how many billions have we already wasted on that system already?

Who's f*****g idea was it anyway? Rayguns?