I was extremely disappointed to learn that Sen. Angus King recently voted in the Senate Armed Forces Committee to support Sen. Ted Cruz’s proposal to require the Pentagon to develop a space-based missile defense program that the Pentagon has not requested and that will enrich military contractors.
Vice Adm. James Syring, then Missile Defense Agency director, told the House Armed Services Committee in April 2016, “I have serious concerns about the technical feasibility of the interceptors in space, and I have serious concerns about the long-term affordability of a program like that.”
The Arms Control Association’s Ryan Fedasiuk and Kingston Reif write: “Sen. Cruz and other (space-based missile defense) proponents greatly understate the monetary, technical and strategic limitations that constrain the development of interceptors in space.”
The National Academy of Sciences estimated that a space-based missile defense system would require hundreds of interceptors costing roughly 10 times that of the ground-based system that our military just completed and has confirmed to be effective.
Instead of spending our tax dollars on costly, unproven programs that serve only to enrich defense contractors, we should support our veterans, our current military service people and the people of Maine. As frightening as the threat of a nuclear strike is, the rapid progression of global warming and climate change presents an active threat to global security.
At a time when many Mainers struggle to feed themselves and find affordable housing and health and dental care, we should be looking for ways to shift our bloated military budget to addressing the needs of Maine’s people, breaking our economy’s dependence on an ever-expanding military budget and shifting it to developing clean renewable energy for a sustainable economy, climate and future. Sen. King’s vote demonstrates that his loyalty to defense contractors eclipses his loyalty to Maine’s people.
Cynthia Handlen
Portland
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