Bradley H. Roberts
Janet Levy Ross sent us a Reuters report on a Congressional hearing about the Obama Administration considering giving Putin’s Russia access to our Missile Defense Codes. This latest development from the Obama West Wing comes amidst the roiling controversy between the President and Israeli PM Netanyahu over the use of a possible military option against Iran’s nuclear weapons program. Then there was the media attention on today’s divisive Capitol Hill hearings on whether the US should arm Syrian opposition militias. The gifting to Russia of US Missile Defense codes by the Obama Administration is an important story, that has gotten lost in the media coverage of these competing national security matters. Unfortunately, it is a reflection of the Obama Administration’s effort to undermine our missile shield offering to NATO allies in Eastern and Central Europe. They could be facing the possible threat of Iranian ICBMs. Late last year, we learned that China might be supplying Iran with ICBMs that could hit Alaska. The Reuters report, “Obama mulls giving Moscow data on missile defense” had these disturbing revelations from testimony by Deputy Assistant Defense Secretary for Nuclear and Missile Defense Policy Dr. Bradley H. Roberts at hearings before the House Armed Services Committee:
The Obama administration disclosed on Tuesday that it is considering sharing some classified U.S. data as part of an effort to allay Russian concerns about a controversial antimissile shield.
The administration is continuing negotiations begun under former President George W. Bush on a defense technical cooperation agreement with Moscow that could include limited classified data, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Brad Roberts told a House of Representatives' Armed Services subcommittee.
He gave no details on the sort of data that might be shared under such an agreement.
Russia strongly opposes the U.S.-engineered bulwark being built in and around Europe against ballistic missiles that could be fired by countries like Iran.
Moscow fears that such a shield could grow strong enough over time to undermine Moscow's own nuclear deterrent force and has threatened to deploy missiles of its own as a counter.
"We're not the first administration to seek cooperation on missile defense," Roberts, who is responsible for nuclear and missile defense policy, told the subcommittee on strategic forces.
Nor is the administration the first "to believe that cooperation could be well-served by some limited sharing of classified information of a certain kind if the proper rules were in place to do that," he said in reply to questions from Mo Brooks, an Alabama Republican.
"The Bush administration headed down precisely the same path," Roberts said.
"We're making no progress" in persuading Russia to drop its opposition, despite the willingness to consider sharing certain sensitive data, he added.
The Obama administration is pursuing this cooperation because it would be in the security interests of the United States, NATO and Russia by strengthening the defensive capabilities of both NATO and Russia, Roberts said.
Under any such agreement, NATO would be responsible for the defense of its member states and Russia would be responsible for the defense of Russia, Roberts added in written testimony.
Army Lieutenant General Patrick O'Reilly, the head of the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency, said he had no knowledge of any move to share with Moscow any classified information on the U.S. technology used to knock out target missiles.
"I never received a request to release classified information to the Russians," he told the panel, testifying alongside Roberts.
Panel chairman Michael Turner said last November that he would oppose any Obama administration effort to provide Russia information on the so-called burnout velocity of Raytheon Corporation Standard Missile-3 interceptors, a key part of the layered defense.
"The House Armed Services Committee will vigorously resist such compromise of U.S. missile defense capabilities," he said in a speech last November.
We asked a missile defense analyst for his views on these revelations. He wrote:
Bush never gave any data to the Russians--when will we learn that when the Russians complain and whine, they want something and they want stuff that is valuable......so caving to them always will hurt US security. This is the issue. Obama desperately wants a summit with the Russians in Chicago in May following the Seoul summit. However, he has nothing to announce. Reset doesn't seem to be working. There is no substance to this story unless it is a leak to see what might happen if the administration does pass such information to the Russians. Congress appears opposed, but POTUS wants to have a photo op with a communiqué and better video for the convention and campaign. The key is Obama has to make it look good that the negotiations with Putin have paid off and that he has not been played for a fool.
We will see if this story has legs and report on further developments.
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