Rep. Kay Granger (TX) published her debut post on the new conservative Republican website for women, American Maggie, today. Tackling the issue of missile defense, Granger urges the Obama Administration to reconsider their recent decision to abandon missile defense sites in Europe. Read the following excerpt:
The decision to abandon the missile defense sites in Europe is one of the gravest foreign policy and national security mistakes in quite some time. The desertion of the European sites, vital to missile defense, leaves a gaping hole within the net of protection, in a region intended to cover the prime threat posed by Iran. In addition to the damaging effect on both American and European security, it also exposes an unnerving gap in American credibility with both Eastern and Central Europe as the Administration unnecessarily exaggerates Russian influence and removes a key buffer against the Iranian threat from the table.
The threat of a missile attack is very real. The actions of both Iran and North Korea should be leading us toward a more robust missile defense system, not a watered down version. Our missile defense plan has always been predicated on the need for multiple layers of protection. I strongly support increasing our mobile sea- and land-based defense capabilities; however, this should be done in addition to – not at the cost of –
our European missile defense sites. I fully support a peaceful diplomatic solution to both the Iranian and North Korean missile and nuclear threats, but there is no room for removing passive and defensive safeguards such as missile defense in Europe while those efforts take place. Planning and preparing for developing threats in a proactive manner is always a more sound strategy instead of pairing resources to the current threat of today. This is especially the case as the American people have learned that intelligence is not always 100 percent accurate, as evident in the newly revealed second Iranian nuclear enrichment site.