Ah, Just Different New Technology

When President Obama decided to abandon the Bush plan to put in anti-missile bases in eastern Europe that could intercept Iranian missiles heading for Europe or America, he said that his plan would use existing Navy missiles that could be put in quickly. The administration said that their new plan would be just as good--and done faster--than the Bush plan.

I didn't understand that since the Navy missiles had too short a range to defend Europe except by putting launchers all over the continent from the Atlantic to Poland and from Norway to Greece.

Worse, those missiles could never stop missiles flying over Europe to America.

So I was puzzled about those administration claims that they improved a faulty Bush plan.

Apparently, the Obama plans aren't that hot:

Obama claims his system would be more reliable than what had been planned by Bush because the new plan was based on tested technology.

"We have made specific and proven advances in our missile defense technology," Obama said at the time. "Our new approach will, therefore, deploy technologies that are proven and cost-effective and that counter the current threat, and do so sooner than the previous program."

But the two reports cast doubt on the technology and Obama's timetable.

Oh, and the mis-match between claims that the Obama plan could defend America with missiles that obviously couldn't do the job is clearer now:

Soon after Obama took office in 2009, he revamped the program as he looked to improve relations with Moscow. His plans called for slower interceptors that could address Iran's medium-range missiles. The interceptors would be upgraded gradually over four phases, culminating in 2020 with newer versions, still in development, that the administration says will protect Europe and the United States. The early phases call for using Aegis radars on ships and a more powerful radar based in Turkey. Later phases call for moving Aegis radars to Romania and Poland.

Ah, there was a plan to eventually defend the United States. But it relies on new technology that isn't as secure as the Obama administration made it out to be. I was right that the Navy missiles simply wouldn't protect America even if they could--if deployed widely enough--defend Europe.

So we scared allies over our ability to disregard previous commitments and won't gain any technical advantage--and may not be able to protect America at all.

Oh, and the Russians are still whining about our plans like annoying brats.

But other than those minor things, the Obama missile defense plan is swell.

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