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| Science & Technology |
| SpaceWar: US allocates %1.59 of Defense Budget for Missile Defense |
| 2008-02-20 |
| Riki Ellison, President of the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance (MDAA) informed a national audience of the organization the importance and significance of the budget request as it relates to ballistic missile threats to our national security for the new fiscal year, 2009. A summary of his comments and observations follows: "This week, the highest ranking members of the United States military, the Secretary of Defense, Mr. Robert Gates, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, testified to Congress and presented the $655 billion budget request for this country's defense and national security for the 2009 fiscal year. Of the $655 billion, which includes a $70 billion supplementary amount, 1.59% is allocated for missile defense, a non-offensive weapons system." "Both the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Secretary of Defense testified on the need for missile defense. Admiral Mike Mullen put forward the justification of why our country needs increased spending for missile defense. Secretary Robert Gates emphasized the growing Iranian ballistic missile threat, and he expects ground will be broken and an agreement will be signed with Poland and the Czech Republic to host a third U.S. missile defense site this year." At the beginning of the week, the Department of Defense and the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) released a detailed budget for the missile defense program. Citing the MDA 2009 budget estimates overview, Lt. Gen. Trey Obering, Director of MDA, in his written statement preceding the MDA budget funding request amounts stated; "some 30 nations have now deployed a ballistic missile capability, compared to only eight in 1972, and foreign ballistic missiles were launched more than 100 times around the world in 2007 ... Currently, North Korea has hundreds of deployable short and medium range ballistic missiles and is developing a new intermediate range ballistic missile and a new short range solid propellant ballistic missile, which it test launched in June 2007. "Iran has the largest force of ballistic missiles in the Middle East (several hundred short- and medium-range ballistic missiles), and its highly publicized missile exercise training has enabled Iranian ballistic missile forces to hone wartime skills and new tactics." Ellison further stated, "On Friday, February 8th, major news released around the world reported that Iran has begun to deploy newer more advanced centrifuges to produce nuclear fuel in order to move forward towards the production of nuclear weapons. This past Monday, Iran announced that it fired a rocket into space. Taken together, these two events leave a real and credible threat to the national security interests of the United States, its allies and moreover our world." "The Missile Defense budget for 2009, which includes the MDA budget of $9.4 billion as well as an additional $1.1 billion from the Department of Defense, amounting to $10.5 billion, consists basically of two areas of investment over five regional areas of integrated, developing and deployed missile defense. The Two Areas: 1. Fielding and sustaining defense missile systems at an estimated $4.1 billion, or 39.1% of the total missile defense budget. 2. Testing and developing missile defense systems at an estimated $6.4 billion, or 60.9% of the total missile defense budget. The Five Regions: 1. U.S. Defense against North Korea Long Range missile defense at $58.5 million at 0.56%. 2. Regional and Theater Defense for US Forces at $6.4 billion at 12.3%. 3. U.S. Defense against Iran long range at $1.7 billion at 16.3%. 4. Europe Defense at $719.8 million at 6.92%. 5. Expand defense to be able to protect two regions at once from both Iran and North Korea at $835.6 million at 8.03%." Ellison closed his observations and remarks with this statement: "We at MDAA believe that this funding request for missile defense is fair, balanced, affordable and necessary for our public safety and the protection of our troops and allies." |
| Posted by:3dc |
| #2 Between active and retired [which is carried on DoD's books] and civilian personnel pay take around 50%. Those active and particularly retired medical care promises from the 60s and 70s when monthly pay was just about poverty level are now coming home to roost as 'delayed' compensation is now starting to bit big time in the budget as well [note well universal care advocates!]. So when you see advocates juggling numbers like 1.5%, know what that is in the 'discretionary' portion of the DoD budget not the raw outlays. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2008-02-20 22:59 |
| #1 Lest we fergit, STARS-N-STRIPES/OTHER [old] IN DEFENSE OF DEFENSE SPENDING, GDP IS THE ONLY REAL MEASURE, + TOPIX > US DEFENSE SPENDING CONTINUES TO SHRINK AS ECONOMY GROWS. IIRC Articles > In WW2, USA spent the equivalent of nearly 1/2 of its economy in fighting and winning the war. Compare to 4% now for the US defense budget, including for very expensive hi-techs + GWOT in ME??? |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2008-02-20 18:46 |