Jim Inhofe: “I am speaking today, once again, about the urgent priority we have to develop and deploy adequate defenses against a…”

“I am speaking today, once again, about the urgent priority we have to develop and deploy adequate defenses against a ballistic missile attack. As a member of the Armed Services Committee and Intelligence Committee, I feel it is my duty to call relevant aspects of this issue to the attention of my colleagues and the American people. This month, we are marking the 5-year anniversary of the gulf war. While the war was, in many respects, a great triumph, there are certainly many lessons that we should learn from that war. One of these lessons is that future conflicts will, very likely, include attacks on American forces by ballistic missiles. It is our obligation to our troops--not to mention the American people, generally--to do all we can to prepare for this reality. Five years ago this past Sunday, a primitive Iraqi Scud missile carrying a conventional explosive warhead slammed into a barracks housing American troops in Saudi Arabia, and 28 Americans were killed, 98 Americans were injured. It was the single largest loss of lives during that war.”