Have you ever wondered about the anti-missile dome shields you see used in the current Israeli was against Hama? Here is the story behind the story, and my very minor part in it.
In 1983, then President Ronald Reagan, at the height of the Cold War, proposed a new comprehensive research and development plan known as the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), but which was dubbed Star Wars from the 1977 movie of the same name.
The plan had been devised by Lt. General Daniel O. Graham. the founder of High Frontier and advisor to President Reagan after the abandonment of the suicidal and immoral strategy of Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD) for the concept of Assured Survival through the creation of effective defenses against ballistic missiles.
One of the “perks” of serving as President Reagan’s Campaign in Laclede County was an invitation to me to become part of the Speaker’s Bureau to promote SDI in Missouri, and I was sent to Washington D.C. for an intensive training seminar at the Capitol conducted by General Dan Graham and other defense officials, including some retired NATO officials. When I returned to Missouri, I travelled throughout the state making speeches to civic groups and other organizations.
My trip and activities were sponsored by High Frontier, a non-government “think tank” whose funding came from the private sector and individuals who were interested in promoting a missile defense system for our national safety.
President Bush continued the SDI program with the assistance of Ambassador Henry F. Cooper who had served as President Reagan’s chief negotiator with the Soviet Union. The Ambassador also continued as SDI director under President George H. W. Bush.
The Clinton administration scuttled the program by severely cutting back on its funding but Ambassador Cooper continued the work, and many of today’s operational missile defense systems owe their heritage to the work done by both Presidents Bush.
The Navy’s Aegis ballistic missile defense system began under Ambassador Cooper’s watch and is now deployed around the world on more than 24 Aegis Cruisers and Destroyers, growing to 32 by 2015.
All currently deployed ground based systems were part of Ambassador Cooper’s goals over twenty years ago. We have ground based interceptors in California and Alaska to help defend us against ICBMs that might be launched from N. Korea or Iran.
Our Theatre Missile Defenses such as Patriot and THAAD protect our troops and allies.
Israel’s Iron Dome, which has been deployed just recently again in their face-off with Iran, is partially based on the SDI, and is also partially funded by the U.S.
We have numerous joint programs with allies such as Japan to help develop Aegis sea-based missile defenses now deployed against N. Korea and others.
But our ground based defenses have limited capability and need to be strengthened and improved.
I was encouraged to hear Senator Marco Rubio mention this week that we needed to continue to expand our missile defense by speeding up deployment of interceptors in Europe, deploying a third site in the United States, and ensuring that advanced programs are adequately funded.
High Frontier is still alive and active in our national defense programs. The experts who maintain that program are calling for our existing sea-based defenses to be improved to give them an effective capability against ICBMs while they are stationed near our coasts where they could shoot down attacking missiles while they are in their ascent phase of flight.
I was especially interested when doing my research to learn that High Frontier is now focusing heavily on trying to get sea-based defenses deployed at U.S. Coastal military bases around the Gulf of Mexico from which Iran or terrorists might launch an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack which could ultimately kill two-thirds or more of Americans.
© Joan Rowden Hart
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