BUSH "LIVING IN THE PAST" ON MISSILE DEFENSE- - Misleader.org

[papau]

www.Misleader.org

BUSH "LIVING IN THE PAST" ON MISSILE DEFENSE

President Bush this week said that "those who oppose ballistic missile
system really don't understand the threats of the 21st century. They're
living in the past." He then claimed, "We're going to do what's necessary to
protect this country."<1> But a look at the President's push for an unproven
defense system aimed at preventing a Cold War-style attack while he
underfunds counterterrorism/homeland security shows that he is the one whose
policies are wholly outdated. It also shows that, in fact, he is not doing
everything necessary to protect America.

The missile defense system the President is pushing is designed to shoot
down Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) - a weapon experts agree
posed a far greater threat to America during the Cold War. By contrast,
today the threat of 9/11-style terrorism is far greater than that of an
ICBM. A missile defense system does nothing to address that kind of
terrorism. Additionally, nonpartisan congressional auditors this year found
that the missile defense system was wholly unproven.<2>

Despite these facts, the President is pushing to spend billions on the
system, while cutting funding for more pressing national security programs.
Specifically, he is pushing a massive 9% cut to the Nunn-Lugar program<3> -
the government's central effort to protect loose nuclear material and
prevent that material from getting into the hands of terrorists on the
international black market. He has also drastically underfunded basic
homeland security programs, including grants to first responders.<4>

To illustrate just how out of touch the President has been on national
security issues, consider the summer before 9/11: As the White House
received warnings of an imminent terrorist (not ICBM) attack, the Bush
administration threatened to veto an urgent request to shift $800 million
from missile defense into critical counter-terrorism programs.<5>

Sources:

1. "President's Remarks in Ridley Park, Pennsylvania ," The White House,
8/17/04, http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1338421&l=51069.
2. "Missile defense called unproven," San Francisco Chronicle, 4/24/04,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1338421&l=51070.
3. "Fact Sheet: GOP Budget and Homeland Security," HouseDemocrats.gov,
03/25/04, http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1338421&l=51071.
4. "The Bush Record: Homeland Insecurity," Democrats.org,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1338421&l=51072.
5. "What Went Wrong.," Newsweek, 05/27/02, http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1338421&l=51073.