Terry Everett, April 11, 2005

In a recent op-ed, former President Jimmy Carter accused the United States of dropping the ball on efforts to stop the spread of nuclear weapons, citing as one example America's development of a national missile defense system. Restricting rogue nation and terrorists' access to nuclear weapons is sound policy, but Mr. Carter's suggestion that America abandon its missile shield to make other nations happy is certainly not.

Carter charged that a missile defense system is "infeasible" and its current development is "wasting huge resources." His comments follow similar reasoning in an article recently published in The Washington Post in which critics of America's military space programs accuse the Bush Administration of trying to weaponize and "dominate" space. Again, the conclusion was that other countries, including China, Russia and North Korea, would not approve.

While the United States is working with our friends around the world to stop nuclear weapons from getting into the wrong hands, we cannot expect that such efforts alone will protect our interests. To rely on the good will of other nations is fine in a perfect world free from the messy realities of political upheavals, terrorism, or even human error. Unfortunately, we do not live in a perfect world and are never likely to.

I believe it is prudent that America continue work on developing and implementing a national missile defense shield. In an ever changing and increasingly dangerous world, the chance of a rogue nation, such as North Korea, or a terrorist organization like Al Qaeda acquiring and using ballistic missiles to attack our homeland is more likely. At present, Americans are virtually defenseless against such an attack; a situation I find unacceptable.

As chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces, which oversees missile defense, I support development of a national missile defense system. The missile defense system now being created targets the three separate stages (boost, midcourse, and terminal) of any enemy ballistic missile flight as it climbs up into the atmosphere and back down to earth. This layered three-stage approach increases the likelihood of stopping an enemy attack by giving us multiple chances for a successful intercept.

Components of this system are already being manufactured in Alabama. In the Second Congressional District, Lockheed Martin's Pike County plant is assembling the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile which is currently in testing with fielding targeted for 2008. The THAAD missile is designed to intercept enemy missiles as they reenter the earth's atmosphere and approach targets on the ground. I have supported funding for the THAAD program since its beginning in 2001. Huntsville's Redstone Arsenal is also actively involved in research and development of other missile defense programs involving the "midcourse" intercept phase.

Already, a limited "midcourse" missile defense network of less than ten missiles has been installed in California and Alaska and more sophisticated technology is under development. The process will take time and resources but America's safety from deliberate or accidental missile attack is worth the investment.

It is our right and obligation to safeguard the homeland. To leave our citizens vulnerable, as some suggest, is both naïve and shortsighted. We should have learned a valuable lesson from 9/11 that burying our heads in the sand is the worst course of action. That attack cost America $83 billion in immediate losses not counting the terrible toll in human suffering.

Congressman Terry Everett, a Republican, represents Alabama's Second Congressional District, which includes the state capitol, Montgomery.