ABM Treaty:  U.S. Judge Dismisses Congressional Lawsuit

U.S. District Judge John Bates yesterday dismissed a lawsuit filed by 32 members of the House of Representatives seeking to block the U.S. withdrawal from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (see GSN, Nov. 8). 

Led by Representative Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio), the House plaintiffs claimed the Bush administration did not have the right to withdraw the United States from a treaty without first seeking congressional approval.  In his decision, Bates said the representatives did not have the legal standing to bring their case and that the treaty withdrawal was a political matter, not a legal one, according to the Associated Press.

The plaintiffs could have attempted to block the U.S. withdrawal from the treaty through political means, Bates said in his decision.  He noted that the representatives had been unable to obtain support for a resolution calling on President George W. Bush to consult with Congress prior to the treaty withdrawal. 

“Permitting individual congressmen to run to federal court any time they are on the losing end of some vote or issue would circumvent and undermine the legislative process,” Bates said (Associated Press/Washington Post, Dec. 31).

For further information, see:

ABM Treaty Text and Associated Documents (U.S. Defense Department)

U.S. Fact Sheet on Withdrawal from ABM Treaty

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United States:  Pentagon Deploys Advanced Radar at Base in Qatar

U.S. military officials have said a new advanced ground radar system, the Joint Tactical Ground Station, has been deployed at a U.S. base in Qatar to help protect U.S. forces in the Middle East from Iraqi ballistic missile attacks, the New York Times reported last week (see GSN, Dec. 30).

The radar is a mobile system that can alert commanders to enemy missile launches through the use of satellite data, according to the Times.  That data is also sent instantly to missile defense systems, such as the Patriot missile interceptor, in the region to help destroy incoming enemy missiles.  In addition to Camp as-Sayliyah in Qatar, the U.S. military has also deployed the new radar system in Germany and South Korea, the Times reported.

The radar system, when combined with other air defense systems, provides more advance warning time of an incoming enemy ballistic missile strike and more time to launch a counterattack, U.S. commanders in the region said.

“It gives us early warning and it has huge coverage,” said Lt. Col. Frank Molinari, commander of Army troops at the Qatar base (Schmitt/Shenon, New York Times, Dec. 26).

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Israel:  United States Begins Deploying Patriots as Part of Joint Exercise

The United States has begun deploying about 1,000 troops and a number of Patriot missile interceptor batteries in Israel as part of a joint missile defense exercise, the London Guardian reported Saturday (see GSN, Dec. 12). 

The exercise, designed to integrate the U.S. Patriots with the Israeli Arrow missile interceptor, is scheduled to begin next week and last for two weeks, according to the Guardian.  The exercise is also expected to involve the use of a U.S. Aegis destroyer.  The U.S. forces are expected to remain once the exercise is completed to help defend Israel in the event of a U.S.-led war on Iraq, the Guardian reported.

If Iraq launches ballistic missiles against Israel, civilians will receive a seven-minute warning — twice as long as those issued during the 1991 Gulf War, according to the Israeli homefront command (see GSN, Dec. 19).  The increased warning time is the result of new satellite technology and improved missile tracking capabilities, Israeli officials said (Chris McGreal, London Guardian, Dec. 28).

For further information, see:

MDA Terminal Defense Segment

Federation of American Scientists Background on Arrow

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