Mondale Backs Pre-Emptive Missile Strike

North Korea is off its rocker, and their leader is a fruitcake ! Peter Paton Mondale Backs Pre-Emptive Missile Strike Updated 6/23/2006 2:50 PM ET E-mail | Save | Print | Subscribe to stories like this http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-06-23-korea_x.htm

Mondale AFP, 2002 MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Former vice president Walter Mondale said Friday he supports a pre-emptive U.S. strike against a North Korean missile, saying the U.S. should tell North Korea to dismantle the missile or "we are going to take it out." "I think it would end the nuclear long-range dreams of this dangerous country," said Mondale, who was the 1984 Democratic presidential nominee and a former U.S. ambassador to Japan. The tensions are over North Korea's apparent preparations to test-fire a Taepodong-2 missile, which is believed to have a range of up to 9,300 miles. That would make it capable of hitting much of the U.S. mainland. Mondale, 78, said North Korea already has nuclear weapons and its ambition to develop a long-range missile is "one of the most dangerous developments in recent history." It's so dangerous, he said, because of the nation's isolation from the international community and its unpredictable leader, Kim Jong Il. "Here's this bizarre, hermit kingdom over there with a paranoid leader getting ready to test a missile system that can hit us," Mondale said. Former President Clinton's defense secretary, William Perry, also advocated a pre-emptive strike in The Washington Post, but National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley brushed aside Perry's suggestion. Mondale spoke about a pre-emptive strike during an appearance on WCCO-AM in Minneapolis. Mondale and President Jimmy Carter took office in 1976 and were defeated by Republican Ronald Reagan in 1980. Mondale lost as the Democratic presidential nominee in 1984. He was appointed ambassador to Japan in 1993 and is now practicing law in Minneapolis. Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Posted 6/23/2006 1:21 PM ET Updated 6/23/2006 2:50 PM ET  MISSILE CONCERNS MOUNT Japan, USA sign missile defense pact Russia summons N. Korean envoy S. Koreans don't expect test soon Defense shield: Limited system | Kinks remain Videos: 'Grave concern' | U.S. tests in 2006 | USA may intercept | Threat assessment Bush faces nuclear crises in N. Korea, Iran N. Korea asserts right to test WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon's missile defense chief predicted on Friday that interceptor rockets would hit and destroy a North Korean missile in flight if President Bush gave the order to attack it on a path to U.S. territory. Air Force Lt. Gen. Henry A. Obering III, director of the Missile Defense Agency, told reporters he has little doubt that the interceptor system would work, even though it has never been used in a real emergency and even though the U.S. government knows relatively little about how the North Korean missile would perform. Obering refused to say whether the U.S. missile defense system is ready now for a possible intercept mission, but noted that it has been designed specifically to defend U.S. territory against known missile threats from North Korea. "(From) what I have seen and what I know about the system and its capabilities, I am very confident," he said when asked at a news conference about the likelihood that one of the 11 missile interceptors based in Alaska and California would succeed against North Korea's long-range Taepodong 2 missile. Obering refused to discuss more specifically the level of his confidence. He also would not say whether the missile defense system, which includes missile-tracking radars and a communications system linked to the interceptors in underground silos, is currently in an "operational" status. He said it is shifted from a test mode to an operational mode frequently. "We do it all the time," he said. The system is not ready at all times for actual use in an emergency because it is often preparing for or conducting tests. Noting that North Korea has not conducted a test flight of a ballistic missile since 1998, Obering said that means the Pentagon has a limited amount of information about how a long-range Korean missile would function. "It's very, very difficult to understand what they may have, how it may perform," he said, adding that any long-range ballistic missile would have to follow known trajectories in order to reach U.S. territory. The Taepodong 2 missile is a newer version that has never been flight tested. U.S. officials and private experts say they are uncertain of North Koreans' motives for apparently preparing to launch a Taepodong 2, which U.S. officials believe has a range of between 5,000 miles and 7,500 miles. They may be planning a test flight of the missile to verify its design and gain other technical data for further improvements to the system, or they may use the missile to try to thrust a satellite into orbit. There is no expectation that the missile would be launched as a deliberate attack on the United States, but without knowing for sure in advance the Pentagon has been considering the circumstances under which it would try a mid-flight intercept, on Bush's order. The North Korean missile program is especially troubling to the United States, Japan and other countries potentially within missile range because of North Korea's declared — but unproven — possession of nuclear weapons. Alan Romberg, an Asia policy expert and former State Department official, said in an interview Friday that he believes it is likely that North Korea has managed to fashion a number of weapons from its nuclear materials, but he finds it questionable to conclude that they have one that could be carried atop a long-range missile. E-mail | Save