MISSILE DEFENSE SYSTEM IS NEEDED

The United States is vulnerable.

OK, the Cold War has ended and the Soviet Union is not the threat it once was. But missiles pointed at the United States may not come from some super power at all. They may be launched by some two-bit dictator in some Third World country.

The United States no longer has a system that can destroy an enemy's missiles before they reach American soil, according to some congressional experts. A bipartisan Commission to Assess the Ballistic Missile Threat to the U.S. recently found that the threat of a missile strike is immediate. They pointed at such rogue nations as North Korea, Iran, Iraq, Libya and no doubt others with little respect for this country.

It's not a comfortable thought, especially in the wake missiles flying about in foreign lands.

Most of Russia's missiles once aimed at American targets have been reprogrammed. But even that shouldn't bring a sigh of relief. It only takes about an hour to reprogram all the missiles for a new target.

Embracing such new missile technology could be expensive and time-consuming. But what price tag can America place on human lives?

The United States must put a priority on missile technology to ensure that a war doesn't start here.