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The Associated Press reports that the North Korea ship Kang Nam has reversed course from its supposed target. The ship, which was suspected of carrying banned weapons, reportedly was headed to Myanmar. After North Korea threatened to attack Hawaii, the U.S. sent the destroyer U.S.S. John McCain to intercept the Kang Nam.

The Kang Nam’s destination is still a mystery, and no one knows why the ship changed course. According to the AP, our Navy had been following the ship at a distance. North Korea threatened war if its ships were stopped and inspected.

Earlier this month, President Barack Obama said that the U.S. was “more than willing to engage in negotiations to get North Korea on a path of peaceful coexistence with its neighbors…[b]ut belligerent, provocative behavior that threatens neighbors will be met with significant and serious enforcement of sanctions that are in place.”

(Photo credit: Vincent Yu/AP/File)

 
The Heritage Foundation’s Baker Spring has written an article about how President Barack Obama’s plans for missile defense are putting America at risk. Spring recounts several events that have proved threatening to the U.S. and the world. An excerpt:

“On February 2, 2009, Iran successfully launched a satellite into orbit using a rocket with technology similar to that used in long-range ballistic missiles. On May 20, 2009, Iran test-fired a 1,200-mile solid-fueled ballistic missile. North Korea attempted to launch a satellite on April 6, 2009, which, while failing to place the satellite in orbit, delivered its payload some 2,390 miles away in the Pacific Ocean. This was followed by a North Korean explosive nuclear weapons test on May 25, 2009.”

Spring notes that instead of maintaining or increasing our defense budget in response to these threats, the Obama administration seeks to cut missile defense spending and scale back production. The result is a 15 percent decline in defense spending. The president’s response to threats from rogue nations like Iran and North Korea has been shamefully weak. Apparently, the president doesn’t take his duty to protect the homeland seriously.

A majority of Americans believe in strong missile defense, but almost everything the president has done so far exposes a different agenda. Playing party politics at home is one thing, but displaying meekness to the world is another.

“Further, Congress and the American people need to be reminded that while the United States has made progress in positioning missile defense systems in the field in recent years, the U.S. remains highly vulnerable to this threat,” Spring writes. “This is no time for the U.S. to slow the pace of developing and deploying effective defenses against ballistic missiles. Indeed, the Obama Administration and Congress need to accelerate the effort by focusing on developing and deploying the systems that offer the greatest capability.”

Spring outlines a detailed proposal for how to build a strong and comprehensive missile defense system. Read the full article here.

 
Writing at the National Review Institute, Heritage Foundation’s James Carafano sets the record straight on missile defense. Reuters published an anti-missile defense story that Carafano critiques. An excerpt:

“Reuters missile defense reporter Jim Wolf has struck again. This time his June 16 article ‘General ‘90-percent-plus’ sure on U.S. Missile Defense’ selectively quotes some experts and fails to identify others as long time anti-missile defense crusaders.

“Wolf’s article begins by noting that Vice Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff General James Cartwright recently told Congress he believed the odds of defeating a long-range North Korean missile attack were ‘ninety percent plus.’ Wolf then immediately quotes Lisbeth Gronlund who he identifies as ‘an expert on missile defense at the Union of Concerned Scientists in Cambridge, Massachusetts.’ Gronlund dismissed Cartwright’s estimate as ‘irresponsible and based on wishful thinking’ not based on facts. What Wolf fails to report is that Gronlund has always been a consistent critic of missile defense and has not published an article on the subject since 2002. The current ground-based mid-course defense system has evolved significantly since then. Although Gronlund frequently participates in groups conducting analysis of missile defense, it is not clear what her current assessment is based on.”

Read the full article here.

 
The Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance (MDAA) released a legislative alert on the defense budget. Under the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2010, missile defense will lose $1.2 billion in funding. Missile interceptors in Alaska and California would be reduced from 44 to 30.

According to the alert, President Barack Obama intends to shift away from national missile defense to theater missile defense. Earlier this month, we noted that the Obama administration planned to shift funds away from weapons and research for future conflicts and focus on weapons needed for the war in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The NDAA passed the House and Senate in committee, and lawmakers are introducing amendments to restore funding.

The MDAA notes that missile defense cuts would cancel the Multiple Kill Vehicle, Kinetic Energy Interceptor, and Airborne Laser. Visit the MDAA site for more information.

 
A nuclear weapon detonated high over the U.S. would produce something called an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) effect, a blast of electromagnetic waves that would short-circuit electrical components such as power grids and circuits that allow you to start a car. One minute we’re an advanced high-tech society; the next, we’re plunged back into the 18th century.

Military historian Bill Forstchen has a written a book titled, One Second After, a fictionalized account of what would happen in the aftermath of an EMP attack on the U.S.

Forstchen appeared on Pajamas Media TV to talk about his book. See Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.

 
Everyone expects North Korea to loudly complain about countries rallying to take precautions and to defend themselves even as the rogue state conducts nuclear tests and launches missiles. Today North Korea criticized the U.S. for defending itself by moving missile defense systems near Hawaii, a state North Korea threatened to attack. (Source)

From an article in a government newspaper: “Through the U.S. forces’ clamorous movements, it has been brought to light that the U.S. attempt to launch a pre-emptive strike on our republic has become a brutal fact.”

The paper also said our defensive measures show that a “pre-emptive nuclear war” is in the works. Of course, North Korea is keeping up a pretense of innocence to throw attention elsewhere.

In other missile defense news, Congress is attempting to keep a program the Obama administration wants to cut. A Senate version of a defense bill that passed committee would allow the government to spend up to $1.75 billion for seven F-22 fighter jets, and a House version of the bill would add $369 million for aircraft parts. President Barack Obama has threatened to veto a bill that increases production of these planes. (Source)

According to the article, the Senate Armed Services Committee bill supports missile defense funding reductions, but Senator James Inhofe said he’d approve amendments that would increase funding for missile defense shields in Poland and the Czech Republic.

 
Earlier this week, Japan’s Coast Guard reported that North Korea banned ships from its coast by a wide range, fueling speculation that the rogue state was preparing to launch more missiles. The ban will last from June 25 to July 10. Turns out the speculation was on point. The U.S. believes North Korea is gearing up to launch short- to medium-range missiles, according to intelligence. (Source)

This month, North Korea conducted a nuclear test and fired at least five short-range missiles. A ship called the Kang Nam, which was headed to Myanmar, was suspected of carrying banned weapons. North Korea threatened to attack Hawaii and hinted at more aggressive actions if its ships were stopped and searched. The U.S. sent the destroyer U.S.S. John McCain to intercept the ship.

The launch of short- and medium-range missiles, and not the long-range Taepodong-2, seems to indicate that Hawaii won’t be attacked. If North Korea goes foward with its long-range missile launch, the U.S. will deploy a missile intercept and radar system to Hawaii to shoot down the missile.

Is North Korea that stupid? The rogue state’s been pretty bold so far.

 
Defense contractor Lockheed Martin upgraded the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) System, complete with the Aegis BSP, a new ballistic missile defense signal processor. From the press release:

“The Aegis BMD 4.0.1 system represents the next incremental capability upgrade that has been the hallmark of Aegis and its ‘build a little, test a little, learn a lot’ systems engineering philosophy. The upgrade’s new Aegis BSP processor improves the system’s ability to detect, track and target complex ballistic missiles and their associated countermeasures. The addition of BMD 4.0.1 also integrates the new Standard Missile-3 Block IB missile in late 2010.

“‘The signal processor is a major technical advance for Aegis BMD before it merges with the Navy’s Aegis Modernization Program’s fully open architecture, multi-mission combat system,’ said Orlando Carvalho, vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin’s Surface/Sea-Based Missile Defense line of business. ‘The continued Aegis program emphasis on systems engineering excellence supports the Navy’s desire to expand BMD capability to additional cruisers and destroyers, and grow missile defense capability to pace the threat.’”

Read the rest here.

 
North Korea has accused President Barack Obama of planning to strike the rogue state with a nuclear weapon. (Source)

North Korea also accused South Korea of colluding with the U.S. in its scheme. According to state-run newspaper Tongil Sinbo: “The US-touted provision of ‘extended deterrence, including a nuclear umbrella’ (for South Korea ) is nothing but ‘a nuclear war plan.’” The paper said the U.S. was bringing “nuclear equipment” into South Korea .

Of course, these accusations are a subterfuge, and a poor one at that. North Korea is conducting nuclear tests and launching missiles despite international sanctions and disapproval. North Korea has threatened more nuclear tests and long-range missile launches. North Korea declared that if any country searched its ships suspected of carrying nuclear weapons, it would be considered an act of war. Sources reported that North Korea may be planning to attack Hawaii. North Korea clearly is the aggressor in these scenarios, and our president would do well not to be deterred by the rogue nation’s posturing.

Last week, Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Navy Adm. Mike Mullen said the U.S. intended to “vigorously enforce” U.N. sanctions against North Korea. To prepare for aggressive action, our country sent the U.S.S. John McCain to intercept the Kang Nam (pictured above) off the coast of China. The Associated Press reports that the flagged ship may be sailing toward Myanmar with banned weapons.

(Photo credit: Vincent Yu/AP/File)

Radio Talk Show Hosts Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity discuss 33 Minutes on their radio programs.

Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity on 33 Minutes