Senator Carl Levin (D-MI), Senator Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) and Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL)

Senate Breakthrough

Dear Members and Friends,

The United States Senate Armed Services Committee with the Democratic majority, led by the esteemed Senator Carl Levin from Michigan, fully authorized funding for the third site in the Czech Republic and Poland for $712 million, increasing the total amount of funding for Missile Defense by $189 million from last year. This amounts to 2.02% of the Department of Defense budget, with $10.389 billion allocated for missile defense. This is a clear, unequivocal statement by the Democratic controlled United States Senate that reflects endorsement of Missile Defense deployment, development and the third Missile Defense site to be placed in the Czech Republic and Poland.

The United States Senate Armed Services Committee with the Democratic majority, led by the esteemed Senator Carl Levin from Michigan, fully authorized funding for the third site in the Czech Republic and Poland for $712 million, increasing the total amount of funding for Missile Defense by $189 million from last year. This amounts to 2.02% of the Department of Defense budget, with $10.389 billion allocated for missile defense. This is a clear, unequivocal statement by the Democratic controlled United States Senate that reflects endorsement of Missile Defense deployment, development and the third Missile Defense site to be placed in the Czech Republic and Poland.

The mutual recognition of the current and future threat from Iran's ballistic missiles and the multinational endorsement of the 26 nations of NATO for the American Missile Defense sites in the Czech Republic and Poland were the two driving factors for the Senate Armed Services Committee. The lack of interest or collective movement to slow down missile defense deployment in Europe displayed a turning point in a much debated issue over the past two years. A clear example of this was last year's Senate restriction of limiting the deployment of the 10 ground-based operational interceptors in Poland, which is no longer restricted in this authorization.

Satellite Shoot Down

February 20, 2008 - A Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) is launched from the USS Lake Erie (CG-70) to intercept and destroy an inoperable spy satellite that contained hazardous hydrazine fuel.

Riki Ellison and John Pike discuss satellite shoot down on FOXNews

February 17, 2008 - Riki Ellison appeared with John Pike on the Geraldo at Large news program to discuss the planned shoot down of a dying toxic satellite using the deployed Aegis ballistic missile defense system.