John Spratt: “Mr. Speaker, on Saturday night, in the euphoria after the test, General Kadish warned against reading too much into this…”

“Mr. Speaker, on Saturday night, in the euphoria after the test, General Kadish warned against reading too much into this single test. He warned specifically that we have a long way to go before we have a system we can deploy. I think, at this moment and in days ahead, we should bear his caution in mind and take his prudence to heart. This test shows that the technology for an operational system is within our reach, and that is good news. This was a daunting feat. That is why I support this commendation. But it is not yet within our grasp. We should continue with this ground-based system, we should commend the people who were developing it, testing it. They are working hard, and they deserve our gratitude. But we should not fool ourselves. Challenges remain. This system should be held to the same standards as any other weapons system before we make the decision to deploy. Mr. Speaker, I think it would probably be appropriate to quote Churchill after North Africa at this point, who was asked, 'What does this signify?' He said 'It is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. It is, perhaps, the beginning of the beginning.' Maybe we are a bit farther ahead than that, but that is where we stand. We should not get too carried away or euphoric about one single test. There are many more to come.”