Israel's Anti-Missile Defense System Is Making Progress

Iron Dome successfully intercepts a missile.
Photo: Defense Ministry

Iron Dome System Successfully Intercepts Kassams, Katyushas -- Jerusalem Post

Israel inched a step closer to deploying a missile defense system along the border with the Gaza Strip on Wednesday after the Iron Dome successfully intercepted a number of missile barrages in tests held in southern Israel this week.

The tests were overseen by the Defense Ministry, the Israeli Air Force and the Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. which has developed and is manufacturing the Iron Dome, slated to become operational and deployed along the Gaza border in the middle of 2010.

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My Comment: This is a success story. This is also a story that many of Israel's neighbors are watching very closely.

US Disarms, Russia And China Build Up -- A Commentary

Negotiations: China and Russia signed a US$1 billion (euro670 million) nuclear cooperation deal Friday and stood together in firm opposition to U.S. missile defense plans. Photo from The Daily Mail

While US Disarms, Russia And China Build Up Their Military -- American Thinker

In this week's issue of Defense News , Ilan Berman, vice president of the American Foreign Policy Council, warns, "Stagnation threatens U.S. arms superiority." After noting recent tests by Russia and China of new nuclear-armed missiles, Berman writes,

Indeed, practically every declared nuclear weapon state is engaged in a serious modernization of its strategic arsenal. The United States, by contrast, has allowed its strategic infrastructure to atrophy since the end of the Cold War.

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My Comment: While it is true that both Russia and China are investing heavily into their military programs, they still have a very long way to go to threaten U.S. nuclear forces. But military trends and direction have an impact on policy and the politics of today .... and the trends today are obvious .... the U.S. may decide to forgo modernizing its strategic arsenal.

Women In Uniform

Women In Uniform: Eight Who Fell, And One Who Steps Forward -- Politics Daily

It started with a picture -- 2nd. Lt. Emily J.T. Perez. In her United States Military Academy photograph, she holds her feathered hat, grips her sword and smiles.

Perez had a lot to smile about. She was the first minority female command sergeant in West Point history.

And she was the first combat death from the class of 2005, also known as the class of 9/11. In 2006, a roadside bomb south of Baghdad killed her.

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My Comment: The key phrase is the following ....

Women have to be tough in today's asymmetrical warfare, where the "support" jobs are as risky as the front lines. More women have fought and died since 9/11 than in all the wars of the previous five decades combined.

What was a unique news story a few years ago .... the death of a female soldier .... is now common news and does not even lift an eyebrow. The age of these soldiers also strike me .... most of them were very young when 9/11 happened .... and now they are off to war.

On a personal note, this even impacts me at home. My friends daughter was 9 when 9/11 happened, and now she wants to join the Army .... to serve a calling that is very important to her. For personal reasons I hope that she will change her mind as she gets older .... but something tells me that she will not.

These people .... these soldiers .... they represent the best of us. I can only hope that as these wars grind on, our country does not forget that.

The Attempted Bombing Of Flight NW 253 -- Customs Was Already Waiting For The Plane To Land To Question The Bomber

The administration has ordered tight new security
measures for US-bound passengers. Photo AFP

U.S. Learned Intelligence On Airline Bomb Suspect While He Was En Route -- L.A. Times

U.S. border enforcement officials came close to stopping the attempted bombing of a Northwest Airlines jet while the suspect was en route to Detroit on Christmas Day, new data show.

Reporting from Washington - U.S. border security officials learned of intelligence about the alleged extremist links of the suspect in the Christmas Day airline bombing attempt as he was en route to Detroit and had decided to question him when he landed, officials said in new disclosures today.

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My Comment: This story is getting better everyday.