North Korean Missile Attack Probably Couldn't Be Intercepted

Posted on: Jul. 15th, 2006 || Source: bloomberg.com | E-mail Article | Print Article

North Korean Missile Attack Probably Couldn't Be Intercepted

July 14 (Bloomberg) -- After North Korea unsuccessfully tested a long-range missile last week, President George W. Bush said that the U.S. would have had "a reasonable chance of shooting it down. At least, that's what the military commanders told me."

Former senior Defense Department officials don't share that assessment. ``I would not have confidence,'' said Thomas Christie, who served from mid-2001 to early 2005 as the Pentagon's top testing official. Christie, in an interview, put the likelihood of success at less than 20 percent.

After spending $95 billion -- and amid plans to spend at least $48 billion more -- the program to develop a reliable defense against missiles is years behind schedule and has yet to prove it can intercept a rocket coming from an unknown location.

The ground-based system designed to protect the nation from rogue states such as North Korea ``has no demonstrated capability to defend the United States against enemy attack under realistic conditions,'' said Philip Coyle, an official with the Center for Defense Information in Washington, who held Christie's post from 1996 until 2001.

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