For defense against threats from N. Iran, other countries
A group of U.S. House lawmakers has petitioned the White House to quickly allocate funds needed to rebuild and update the U.S. missile defense systems to defend against threats from North Korea, Iran and elsewhere around the world.
The members of the House missile defense caucus, led by Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ), sent the petition last week, saying Iran's latest test of ballistic missile technology has only reinforced the belief in Congress that something must be done to secure the American homeland.
"By finally investing the appropriate resources into promising missile defense capabilities ..., the Trump administration can put its stamp on an American missile defense architecture which will protect the U.S. and our allies from the world's deadliest weapons for years to come," the letter said, according to the Washington Free Beacon.
Beefing up missile defense is one of the top security policies of the administration of President Donald Trump. The White House said on its website upon Trump's inauguration that the U.S. will "develop a state-of-the-art missile defense system to protect against missile-based attacks from states like Iran and North Korea."
But lawmakers belonging to the missile defense caucus expressed concern that the White House "may focus on only protecting against a missile-based attack 'from states like Iran and North Korea,' per the White House website," according to the letter.
"As you know, our near-peer competitors are working diligently to exploit the many gaps and seams in our missile defense architecture, and continue to modernize their strategic weapons while the United States allows our aging missile defense system to fall behind this evolving threat," the letter said. (Yonhap)