Michael O’Hanlon’s op-ed in the Examiner today defending Gates’ missile defense plans as “prudent and sound.” In response to conservative criticism (similar blog post on the issue here) he says:
But this critique is overblown. The Obama administration’s proposed cuts to missile defense are measured and prudent. There is room for debate on specifics, of course. But there is no cause for alarm that we are lowering our guard . . . But on balance, a $10 billion-a-year program is pretty darn serious, and there are already multiple layers of redundancy. Given the other challenges facing the nation on and off the battlefield, Gates’ proposals are prudent and sound.
Based on the substantial technological obstacles to some of the programs in question and the host of issues facing the Department the proposed missile defense plans do not seem that far-fetched.