Washington

Washington, D.C. – The majority of the Republicans on the House Armed Services Committee, including Ranking Member John M. McHugh (R-NY), Strategic Forces Subcommittee Ranking Member Michael Turner (R-OH) and every member of the Strategic Forces Subcommittee, today sent a letter to President Barack Obama, out of concern that plans and preparatory measures may not be in place, encouraging him to authorize his military commanders to employ the nation’s missile defense system if the U.S. or our allies are put at risk by an expected North Korean missile launch. 

Text of the letter follows [and is attached]:

The Honorable Barack Obama

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Ave, NW

Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear President Obama:

As you are aware, recent news reports suggest that North Korea is imminently close to launching a long-range Taepodong ballistic missile that could reach the United States.  The commander of U.S. forces in the Pacific recently testified before our committee, “We’re ready to defend U.S. territory, our allies and our national interests if the president so directs.”  However, it remains unclear whether the administration has made any decision, based upon comments made by your Secretary of Defense this weekend where he said the administration is, “not prepared to do anything about it.”  We respectfully encourage you to authorize our military commanders to employ our nation’s missile defense system, should the United States or our allies be put at risk.

These reports suggest, and senior officials within your administration have confirmed, that North Korea is loading a Taepodong rocket on its east coast launch pad.  However, there is a great deal of uncertainty as to the purpose of this launch.  Last week, the Director of National Intelligence said, “they’re trying to use the rationale of a legitimate space launch for a missile, which is in its foundation a military missile.”  Adding to this uncertainty, three of our nation’s top military commanders recently testified before our colleagues in the Senate that they couldn't be sure whether North Korea plans to launch a communications satellite or test an offensive missile. 

The uncertainty surrounding this imminent launch is deeply disturbing considering the Taepodong missile has the potential range to strike Okinawa, Guam, Alaska, and Hawaii.  Equally disturbing are reports that North Korea’s progress in ballistic missile technology is benefiting Iran, as demonstrated in Tehran’s recent satellite launch last month.  The only certain issue is that North Korea continues to engage in missile proliferation.  Furthermore, any such launch would explicitly violate United Nations sanctions and pose a provocative and destabilizing threat to the region and the American people. 

While we support diplomatic efforts by your administration to prevent such a launch from occurring, we also believe prudent steps can be taken to make use of our missile defense capabilities should the United States or our allies be put at risk.  Our nation’s top military generals recently testified before Congress that they believe our missile defense system is “effective” and has a “high probability" of intercepting an incoming missile if they were commanded to do so. 

At present, our global, integrated missile defense system consists of satellites, radar tracking sensors, ground-based interceptors in Alaska and California, Aegis missile defense ships, and Patriot batteries.  We have worked closely with our Japanese and South Korean allies to leverage our respective missile defense capabilities for the joint protection of our countries and deployed forces.  The military commander responsible for the defense of our homeland recently said, "If we felt the North Koreans were going to shoot a ballistic missile at us today, I am comfortable that we would have an effective system that would meet that need."  The military commander responsible for defending our forward-deployed forces and allies in the Pacific said we have an “effective ballistic missile-defense system.”

Recent reports suggest that Japan has authorized its military to shoot down any debris from the North Korean rocket that might fall toward its territory.  Given the confiden