The Center for Military Readiness is pleased to join with the leaders of many respected pro-defense groups in expressing concern about current decisions that are weakening our defenses against long- and short-range ballistic missiles.

Conservative Leaders Speak Out on Obama Missile Defense Decision

The announcement that the Obama Administration will abandon plans for ground-based missile defenses in Poland and the Czech Republic suggests a surrender of influence, betrayal of two of our closest friends in the region, a posture of appeasement towards Russia, and a misunderstanding of the seriousness of the potential nuclear capability of Iran. Congressman Mike Pence (R-IN), head of the Republican Study Committee, issued this statement:

"The first nine months of the Obama administration have emboldened rogue dictators across the globe, and now an increasingly antagonistic Russia has been rewarded for bullying and threatening its neighbors. Not since the Carter administration has America looked so weak on the international stage."

More information is provided in this "Web Memo" by Nile Gardiner, Ph.D, and Sally McNamara of the Heritage Foundation, titled "President Obama Must Not Surrender to Russia on Missile Defense." In an article titled "The Obama Doctrine," Frank Gaffney of the Center for Security Policy writes that current policies will "Undermine our allies. Embolden our enemies. [and] Diminish our country."

CMR agrees that last week's announced suspension of missile defense plans with the Czech Republic and Poland will have the effect of increasing the risks of both long- and short-range attacks from Iran, with little or no sign of expected "help" from Russia. We should not be practicing appeasement with other nations that want to interfere with the security interests of the United States. Americans who are concerned about this issue should contact elected officials in Washington, DC, who can be reached easily through this link: http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml