NATO eyes missile shield progress with Russia after U.S. move towards North Korea:

 *NATO eyes missile shield progress with Russia after U.S. move: Russia has said U.S. missile shield plans could erode its nuclear deterrent. It has softened criticism since Washington announced on March 16 that it would station 14 missile interceptors in Alaska in response to North Korean nuclear threats and at the same time forgo a new type of interceptor that would have been deployed in Europe.

Moscow has long been at odds with the West over anti-missile defenses it has begun to establish in Europe, which both the United States and NATO say are aimed at preventing any attack from Iran and pose no threat to old Cold War foe Russia. "The change in the U.S. plans ... just simply makes the situation much less ambiguous," Vershbow told Reuters. "There is now no reason for concern that the system going into Europe will have any effect whatever on Russia's strategic deterrent.

One Year Ago: Part of NATO missile defense goes live : The station is located in the city of Malatya, about 400 miles southeast of the capital Ankara, and is manned by both Turkish and U.S. personnel, the spokesman said. Turkey is one of five countries that have agreed to deploy parts of the U.S.-designed defense system. Portugal, Poland, Romania and Spain have also agreed to participate. NATO asked Russia to participate in the system but negotiations have been deadlocked over Russia's demand for a legally binding treaty guaranteeing the shield would not be used as a deterrent to Moscow's own systems. 

I remember a year back when Iran said as soon as the site in Turkey was on line it would be a valid target for Iran. I also caught that Russia and the United States are pretty close to an agreement on being partners on the MDS. The only problem now is getting the US to put on paper that Russia is not a target. That should not be a problem one way or the other. Sign the damn paper.

Iran has been upgrading its missile systems and has showed off its Sejil 2 two stage solid fuel missile capable of reaching targets 1,200 miles away. They had that ability with the Shahab 3 but are now prepared to produce these en masse. They now have capable short and medium range capabilities but no way to deliver nuclear warheads. Supposedly these are not to be used offensively but only to prove Iran can defend herself. Once again you have to believe the weapons are to prove they are a threat offensively.

Iran was already a threat to her immediate neighbors with a 600 mile range now they have paraded the ability to produce missiles capable of reaching parts of Europe and certainly most of the middle east. Remember Bush's axis of evil? He falsely inclided Iraq to justify his illegal attack. Now North Korea and Iran the other two in the so called axis are covered by the MDS and none too soon by 14 missile interceptors in Alaska. Bush's facade of an MDS is gone!

President Obama based his decision to scrap Bush's worthless MDS Boondoggle as it was only designed to provoke Russia and was never even tested under realistic conditions despite its 4 Billion dollar cost. As you know after much expert advice and thought he scrapped it for the much tested land and water based mobile Aegis system.

This great decision which Europe and Russia welcome was based on a reassessment of the developing and changing threat coming from Iran! Defending Europe because of Iran  is the priority, Decisions based on intelligent reasoning what a novel idea!

The water based mobile Aegis system can even be moved to the Gulf "you know it is already there" and other area's of concern that may and will crop up to counter immediate short and medium range missile threats. 

Meanwhile by 2017 (now I hear 2015) when Iran is expected to have long range capabilities the Aegis is also scheduled to have long range and ICBM defense capabilities. If Russia and NATO join the effort as proposed I am confident we will be prepared for any future threats!

To top it all off a Defense Department report to Congress concludes that Iran could develop a missile capable of striking the United States by 2015. Besides the mobile aegis the U.S. already had 25 long-range interceptor missiles based in Alaska and California, as part of a system designed to defend the nation against an attack from North Korea or Iran. 

Now they have added 14 more supposedly for North Korea but you know they add another blanket to every threat.Eight of 14 tests of the interceptors have been successful, that gives me pause but I feel we are smart enough to have overkill as far as Iran, North Korea, or any other threat goes. Whatever it takes get on with the rest of the system.


James Joiner
Gardner, Ma
http://anaverageamericanpatriot.blogspot.com

This is disgusting! What the hell is it going to take? The state of Alaska will sue to challenge the recent listing of polar bears as threatened!

With oil prices up to $135 this morning and I fully expect to go to $200 very quickly I was going to talk about the skyrocketing oil prices that just jumped $4 in one day and the effect that is going to have not just on our rapidly increasing food prices but absolutely 100% everything and incidentally I am rushing right now as I have to get ready to go to New Hampshire food shopping so more on that when I get Back. Anyway once again I have to digress for something more important. This is disgusting! What the hell is it going to take? this morning I saw this picture and I was mortified but it got worse when I read the story and had to forget about the stupidity that went on over the farm Bill and I am peeved as something underhanded went on there and the chief slime pulled a fast one again. Someone please feel free to explain. Anyway...

The state of Alaska will sue to challenge the recent listing of polar bears as a threatened species, Gov. Sarah Palin announced Wednesday. She and other Alaska elected officials fear a listing will cripple oil and gas development in prime polar bear habitat off the state's northern and northwestern coasts. Palin argued that there is not enough evidence to support a listing. Polar bears are well-managed and their population has dramatically increased over 30 years as a result of conservation, she said. what the frig will it take? Climate models that predict continued loss of sea ice, the main habitat of polar bears, during summers are unreliable, said Palin, a Republican.What the frig? The announcement drew a strong response from the primary author of the listing petition. "She's either grossly misinformed or intentionally misleading, and both are unbecoming," said Kassie Siegel of the Center for Biological Diversity. "Alaska deserves better." Siegel said it was unconscionable for Palin to ignore overwhelming evidence of global warming's threat to sea ice, the polar bear's habitat. "Even the Bush administration can't deny the reality of global warming," she said. "The governor is aligning herself and the state of Alaska with the most discredited, fringe, extreme viewpoints by denying this." As marine mammals, polar bears are regulated by the federal government, not the state. Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne last week made the listing decision and said it was based on three findings. "First, sea ice is vital to polar bear survival. Second, the polar bear's sea-ice habitat has dramatically melted in recent decades. Third, computer models suggest sea ice is likely to further recede in the future," he said.Summer sea ice last year shrank to a record low, about 1.65 million square miles, nearly 40 percent less than the long-term average between 1979 and 2000. Unbelievable!

Polar bears rely on sea ice for hunting ringed seals. In recent years, summer sea ice has receded far beyond the relatively shallow, biologically rich waters of the outer continental shelf, giving polar bears less time in prime feeding areas. Polar bear researchers fear recent effects of the loss of sea ice on Alaska polar bear populations. A 2006 study by the U.S. Geological Survey concluded that far fewer polar bear cubs in the Beaufort Sea were surviving and that adult males weighed less and had smaller skulls than those captured and measured two decades previously — trends similar to observations in Canada's western Hudson Bay before a population drop. A U.S. Geological Survey study completed last year as part of the petition process predicted polar bears in Alaska could be wiped out by 2050. Kempthorne said last week he considered every point Palin made, and rejected them. However, he sought to limit the economic effect of the decision with the inclusion of "administrative guidance" that said the listing would not be used to create back-door climate policy outside the normal system of political accountability. He also said that the threat to polar bears did not come from the petroleum industry. I beg to differ and drilling in Alaska's ANWR will be the end of them in the wilds of Alaska! What the hell is wrong with us?

In response, conservation groups including the Center for Biological Diversity, Greenpeace and the Natural Resources Defense Council are seeking to overturn Kempthorne's administrative actions and seek limits on greenhouse gas emissions. Palin and other state officials called arbitrary a decision to list a healthy species judging by what they deem uncertain modeling of future climate change and unproven long-term impact of any future climate change on the species. State Natural Resources Commissioner Tom Irwin said it could have wide economic effects. "Inappropriate implementation of this listing decision could result in widespread social and economic impacts, including increased power costs and further increases in fuel prices, without providing any more protection for the species," he said. Deborah Williams, a former Interior Department special assistant for Alaska and an advocate in the state for global warming response, said Palin's lawsuit was not a prudent use of state money. "Clearly Secretary Kempthorne put a tremendous amount of thought into the listing decision and concluded correctly that listing was required," she said. Pleas look at the link for additional compelling pictures! Alaska Will Sue to Block U.S. Listing of Polar Bears as Threatened

I am just blown away! With the terrible effect oil and the environment is going to have on our near future let along our distant future if we are that lucky what the heck is it going to take to make our Government act responsibly? They show no concern for surviving into the future so...

James Joiner
Gardner Ma
www.anaveragepatriot.com