Posted by Matt Lacy• January 10, 2012
Decision comes amidst massive Russian military modernization while US faces upwards of $1 trillion in cuts
U.S. SM-3 Missile Photo is Attached
by Matt Lacy –
Coming on the heels of massive troop drawdowns and massive cuts to the U.S. military, the Obama administration is planning on sharing U.S. missile secrets with the Russians.
The military could face cuts of close to $1 trillion in cuts over the next 10 years. Currently the Pentagon is expected to cut $490 billion over the next 10 years, however another $500 billion in cuts could come because of the congressional deal reached last year during the debt ceiling debate.
As part of the cuts, for the first time since World War II, the U.S. will not have the ability to fight on two fronts at the same time.
Colorado Congressman Mike Coffman has said he wants the two war posture kept and believes it can be done even with the defense cuts. Coffman is a Marine Corps combat veteran who served in Iraq.
“I’m all for making cuts so long as they don’t compromise our national security. I’m afraid from what I’ve seen so far of the direction that the Obama administration wants to go, it does just that by signaling to our adversaries that we are incapable of simultaneously fighting two conflicts at the same time.”
On top of the cuts, president Obama has signaled Congress that he is considering sharing U.S. missile defense secrets with the Russians.
During the signing of the controversial Defense Authorization bill into law, Obama issued a signing statement indicating that he felt restrictions aimed at protecting top-secret data on the U.S. Standard Missile-3 could impede his foreign policy authority.
The Washington times reported several weeks ago that U.S. officials were planning to provide Moscow with the data from the SM-3. The SM-3 is part of America’s missile defense program that was begun under President Ronald Reagan.
Reagan’s program was ridiculed in the press who called it Star Wars. The plan called for America to develop a missile shield to shoot down incoming nuclear missiles. The Star Wars program has been credited as the beginning of the end of the Cold War as Moscow realized they could not keep up with American know-how.
Security officials have expressed concern that the technical data provided to the Russians could compromise the system’s effectiveness and allow Russian technicians to counter the missile. The SM-3 is considered to be some of the most highly effective missile interceptors in the U.S. inventory.
The proposal to share our top secret technology while we are facing upwards of $1 trillion in defense cuts comes at a time when the Russians are doing the exact opposite.
DefenseTech has revealed that Russia is currently in the process of a 10 year, $640 billion military modernization.
The modernization will include 600 new aircraft, 1000 new choppers and an additional 100 vessels added to the Russian Navy including 20 submarines.
Section 1227 of the Defense Authorization bill prohibits spending any funds that will be used to give Russian leaders access to our top-secret missile defense technology as part of any agreement until Congress is sent a report identifying the secrets to be shared, steps to protect the data from being compromised and how the secrets will be used.
Additionally, the president must certify to Congress that the technology will not be shared by the Russians to any other countries.
During the signing ceremony, Obama indicated he did not feel bound by the requirements of section 1227, saying while he intends to keep Congress informed, he also intends to implement the section “in a manner that does not interfere with the president’s constitutional authority to conduct foreign affairs and avoids the undue disclosure of sensitive diplomatic communications.”
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Sunday, January 22nd 2012 at 9:37AM
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