North Korea’s volley of missiles
Well, the tv networks are going crazy — NASA’s success has become slow news compared to North Korea’s volley of three missiles.
Sure, the missiles are big news but they aren’t the strategic shocker. The shocker occurred in August 1998 when Pyongyang tested a long-range ballistic missile. That launch revitalized the United State-Japanese alliance and blew away any legitimate arguments that the U.S. could wait to develop and deploy ballistic missile defenses.
Pyongyang’s 1998 test shot demonstrated that Japan and the US – and for that matter, Europe– are vulnerable to rogue missile attack, and it’s utterly false to argue otherwise. It meant U.S. diplomacy and the world economy are potential hostages to missile blackmail by regional tinpots.
Japan got North Korea’s message. That’s why US and Japanese cooperation on missile defense –and defense in general– has increased.
Was this a North Korean pre-emption of the 4th of July? Remember, NoKo’s launches took place early on the morning of July 5, local time. The timing was darned close to NASA’s shuttle launch time.
As an Army reserve officer, I spent four years assigned to the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization (BMDO)—which was once called SDI and is now named Missile Defense (MD). I had the privilege of watching BMDO test prototypes of the military intelligence and combat organizations it takes to fight a 21st century anti-missile battle.
In one exercise at Ft. Bliss, Texas (in 1997), the regulars let the reservist take temporary control of what amounted to a joint “space warfare brigade,” circa 2010 to 2020. Though the ballistic missile attacks were (thank God) simulated, the ABM batteries in the New Mexican desert, the Navy Aegis cruiser in Norfolk (linked by satellite) and the target acquisition components were real-world technology manned by real-world troops.
We were fighting a “theater war,” against SCUD-type missiles aimed at U.S. units overseas, not ICBMs heading for the U.S. mainland. However, the military, intelligence and command capabilities used in the exercise are the building blocks of an integrated, effective national defense.
My BMDO experience underscored several truths missile-defense advocates and responsible critics acknowledge. Hitting a bullet with a bullet is a tough mission. The technology is expensive. You must test the technology, thoroughly. I also concluded removing 1972 treaty restrictions on space-based targeting would dramatically improve current and projected ABM capabilities.
The Bush Administration ditched the ABM Treaty in 2001. Thank goodness.
The politicos who opposed ABM development and worshiped that fossil called the 1972 ABM Treaty need to be damned in public.
Ready, Aim, Fizz… Blogs of War follows the launch of three North Korean missiles — the Taepodong-2 a failure and two Scuds to cover up — and breathes a sigh of relief, for now. baldilocks is also on duty with “Shooting Blanks…For Now.”……
Trackback by Pajamas Media — 7/4/2006 @ 4:34 pm
[…] Others Blogging: Hot Air Speed of Thought Austin Bay Stop the ACLU Pajamas Media Suitably Flip Infidel Bloggers Alliance Iowa Voice Assorted Babble AubreyJ.org From the Mind of Netjin The Moderate Voice Ed Driscoll […]
Pingback by NORAD Detects Three North Korean Missile Launches - One Long-Range--Blogs of War — 7/4/2006 @ 4:37 pm
[…] Others Blogging: Hot Air Speed of Thought Austin Bay Stop the ACLU Pajamas Media Suitably Flip Baldilocks Infidel Bloggers Alliance Iowa Voice Assorted Babble AubreyJ.org From the Mind of Netjin The Moderate Voice Ed Driscoll […]
Pingback by usmediaweb» Blog Archive » NORAD Detects Multiple North Korean Missile Launches - One Long-Range — 7/4/2006 @ 5:32 pm
[…] Pajamas Media military analyst Austin Bay has early coverage. Austin writes this was probably not in response to July 4 (the NORKS launched on July 5, their time), but may have been in response to the NASA launch. […]
Pingback by Jack’s Newswatch — 7/5/2006 @ 7:05 am
[…] Via Reynolds, Austin Bay (who, while an Army reservist, worked in the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization) says: My BMDO experience underscored several truths missile-defense advocates and responsible critics acknowledge. Hitting a bullet with a bullet is a tough mission. The technology is expensive. You must test the technology, thoroughly. I also concluded removing 1972 treaty restrictions on space-based targeting would dramatically improve current and projected ABM capabilities. […]
Pingback by Cold Fury » Blog Archive » Thanks again, Donks — 7/5/2006 @ 8:05 am
Rockets Red Glare… I tell ya, those North Koreans are starving for attention. And they’re determined to piss off all their neighbors and backers in the process….
Trackback by A Blog For All — 7/5/2006 @ 12:03 pm
Where’s The Response To N. Korea’s Missile Launch?… Independence Day 2006, was one of the more bizarre birthdays in our nation’s history. After several days of postponement, NASA launched the Discovery shuttle, marking the first Independence Day launch ever. Troubling, however, were the numerous object…
Trackback by PartisanTimes.com — 7/5/2006 @ 1:14 pm
[…] And I will re-post this comment from July 4 (part of it was pulled from a column written several years ago): As an Army reserve officer, I spent four years assigned to the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization (BMDO)—which was once called SDI and is now named Missile Defense (MD). I had the privilege of watching BMDO test prototypes of the military intelligence and combat organizations it takes to fight a 21st century anti-missile battle. […]
Pingback by Austin Bay Blog » A successful ABM test– will it make the front page of the NY Times? — 7/13/2006 @ 12:43 pm