Exclusive: Pentagon evaluating U.S. West Coast missile defense sites - officials

[DonViejo]

Source: Reuters




DECEMBER 2, 2017 / 11:48 PM / UPDATED AN HOUR AGO

Mike Stone

SIMI VALLEY, Calif (Reuters) - The U.S. agency tasked with protecting the country from missile attacks is scouting the West Coast for places to deploy new anti-missile defenses, two Congressmen said on Saturday, as North Korea’s missile tests raise concerns about how the United States would defend itself from an attack.

West Coast defenses would likely include Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-ballistic missiles, similar to those deployed in South Korea to protect against a potential North Korean attack.

The accelerated pace of North Korea’s ballistic missile testing program in 2017 and the likelihood the North Korean military could hit the U.S. mainland with a nuclear payload in the next few years has raised the pressure on the United States government to build-up missile defenses.

On Wednesday, North Korea tested a new type of intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that can fly over 13,000 km (8,080 miles), placing Washington within target range, South Korea said on Friday.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-defense-westcoast-exclusive/exclusive-pentagon-evaluating-u-s-west-coast-missile-defense-sites-officials-idUSKBN1DX04W

[RKP5637]

1. Now will there be a rush for big box stores to sell DIY home bomb shelters like in the 50's, that

were in essence useless.

[EX500rider]

9. Not really useless..

....unless you were deep in the blast zone, otherwise you just need a radiation shelter you could stay in for 2 weeks or more.
Hiding in the sub-basement of a brick five-story apartment building, for example, should expose you to just 1/200 of the amount of fallout radiation outside

http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/58cc34b9112f7043268b4bb4-1151

[RKP5637]

10. Good point!!! n/t

[Fred Sanders]

14. The price of West Coast 5 stories with large sub-basements and heavy doors, just went up.

[Iliyah]

2. Well at least California is worth forsomething.

[Zorro]

15. Stephanie Miller says Los Angeles is safe because Dennis Rodman lives there

[Girard442]

3. They should get the folks from Hogwarts to cast a protective spell.

Would be a whole lot cheaper and would work just as well.

[PearliePoo2]

4. Here is a hint (imo) of where some locations are likely to be:

"Rogers and Congressman Adam Smith, a Democrat representing the 9th District of Washington, said the government was considering installing the THAAD anti-missile system made by aerospace giant Lockheed Martin Corp, at west coast sites."

[heaven05]

5. anyone not understanding

that these RW pigs are pushing us toward war, trump the boy-potus wants war along with his hidden advisors, then don't look for nuclear blast bunkers.

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

6. The military has spent $10 million to develop this high tech simulator

I would have done it for a quarter.

[Mrs. Overall]

7. OMFG. My West Coast community has just spent millions of dollars cleaning up anti-ballistic

missiles sites from the 70's and 80's.

It took years to build schools in the proximity of these sites because of the toxicity.

The sites have only been completely cleaned up and labeled "safe" within the last couple of years and now they want to repeat Cold War construction?

This is so upsetting...

[Thor_MN]

8. Any sane person would question the speed of NK missle advances...

Who are they getting help from? Who profits from NK having ICBMs? Interesting questions.

[RKP5637]

11. It certainly seems there is far more behind this than just NK! I've wondered the same. n/t

[Dave Starsky]

19. This has always seemed like an obvious question to me.

And is has constantly baffled me as to why no one besides me ever asks it.

A year ago, these people couldn't even get an Estes rocket off the launch pad. And now they are our greatest nuclear threat? WTF?

[Fred Sanders]

13. I would question the claim NK has this long range missile. Other than claims what is the

evidence? I am still skeptical of this rapid advance. Seems too convenient for all war hawk sides.

[Thor_MN]

16. As far as I have seen, the claims are from other nations tracking it.

So, if the claims are false, it is multiple other nations conspiring to credit NK with false accomplishments...

I'm not happy with Dolt45 siphoning taxpayer money to likely no-bid multi-million dollar contracts from connected firms, to build kabuki defense sites. That's the plan, enrich donors while keeping the public in fear.

[Fred Sanders]

17. NK claimed height and had "super heavy payload ". Height claim "confirmed" by SK and Japan.

No one else? Pentagon?

And why drop a super scary super heavy missile into super close waters if your whole intent is to scare the other side and leave no doubt?

I still doubt.

[Thor_MN]

18. So you believe that SK and Japan are conspiring to claim that NK has a missile?

That other nations with missile tracking capability are keeping silent in concert for their own purposes?

I have doubts about the "super heavy payload", guidance control and ability to successful re-enter the atmosphere...

I'm willing to believe they launched a missile, that it went as high as was claimed, but wonder how a country with a fourth world economy went from trouble hitting the Sea of Japan a few years ago, to putting a missile above the atmosphere. I suspect they are getting help from someone, I just don't know who it is.

Getting the missile to climb out of the atmosphere shows capability to reach long distances, sending towards the US, much less too close to Japan could be used to justify an armed response. NK doesn't have too many options, North is Russia, East is Japan, South is South Korea, West is Japan...

[Fred Sanders]

20. The Pacific is a big ocean. 6000 miles up means no violation of any laws. Why did they not

splash it down towards and over Hawaii? Nothing but water. If you intend to scare why go off half cocked or not cocked at all? Makes no sense.

[Thor_MN]

21. Mindnumbly simple. They can't overfly Japan, withoutit being seen as an act of war.

They are not totally stupid. If they have a malfunction, as they have many times, and your intended path is overflying Japan - you could land your missile on the Japanese Islands. They are simply not stupid enough to take that risk. NK is geographically challenged in terms of missile testing.

[Fred Sanders]

22. 50 miles seems to be the accepted vertical limit of sovereignty... So, no act of war...

Vertical boundary

There is no international agreement on the vertical extent of sovereign airspace, with suggestions ranging from about 30 km (19 mi)—the extent of the highest aircraft and balloons—to about 160 km (99 mi)—the lowest extent of short-term stable orbits. The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale has established the Kármán line—at an altitude of 100 km (62 mi)—as the boundary between the Earth's atmosphere and outer space, while the United States considers anyone who has flown above 80 kilometres (50 mi) to be an astronaut. Indeed, descending space shuttles have flown closer than 80 km (50 mi) over other nations, such as Canada, without requesting permission first.[4] Nonetheless, both the Kármán line and the U.S. definition are merely working benchmarks, without any real legal authority over matters of national sovereignty.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airspace#Vertical_boundary

You are welcome.

And what are the odds of a malfunction doing any real harm even if landing on land with no warhead? Not showing off the capacity when you have it is not explainable.

[Thor_MN]

23. Did you bother to read my post?

I'll repeat, and even type slowly for you.

The very real danger of a malfunction landing the missile on Japanese territory.

Pretty simple.

Add to that, anyone with even a rudimentary understand of physics knows that if you can go 2780 miles up, you can go 8000 miles in distance. One doesn't launch the first of a design in a trajectory that if it fails, it creates an act of war.

Oh, and you're welcome right back.

[Dr_Pretorius]

12. Just like Star Wars, a giant scam to benefit war-profiteering corporations

More and more fear mongering to follow, along with requests for trillions for the "next generation" of war technology.