Mullen Declines To Say Whether U.S. Forces Will Shoot Down Any Missile That North Korea Launches
Iran’s illicit nuclear materials development program likely has produced enough materials to make an atomic bomb, which would be a dire development, Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said.
He also said the United States will be watching, intently, a possible imminent North Korean launch to see whether it is a satellite space launch as Pyongyang claims, or whether it actually is a long-range ballistic missile.
Mullen declined to say whether the United States will attempt to employ ballistic missile defense forces to shoot down the North Korean missile.
American forces were waiting to shoot down a long-range North Korean missile in 2006, but it destructed seconds after launch.
Mullen made his comments as he appeared separately yesterday on Fox News Sunday and on State of the Union on CNN.
Asked whether he agrees with an assessment by the International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA, that Iran already possesses sufficient material to build one nuclear weapon, Mullen said, “We think they do.”
Asked his assessment if in fact Iran does go nuclear, Mullen termed that “a very, very bad outcome.”
As for North Korea and its expected launch of a long-range missile, Mullen said that U.S. military forces will “watch … very carefully” any vehicle that North Korea might launch.
But when asked whether the United States will employ missile defense systems to shoot down any North Korean missile, Mullen said that “no decisions have been made” yet, with “no recommendations one way or the other.”
Some military analysts suspect North Korea is preparing to launch a Taepo Dong-2 long-range missile that could strike targets in the United States. A Taepo Dong-2 failed shortly after launch in 2006, and this would be the first such weapon launched since then.
On the other hand, if North Korea follows the recent lead of Iran and launches a satellite into orbit (Pyongyang said it has a right to access to space), that could provoke even more concern among Pentagon leaders, because a rocket that can place a satellite in orbit involves the same basic technology as an intercontinental ballistic missile. (Please see Space & Missile Defense Report, Monday, Feb. 9, 2009.)
Iran is more of a concern to the United States than North Korea, because it is unclear whether Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad would be deterred from launching a nuclear missile by the threat of overwhelming U.S. nuclear retaliation, according to Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. (Please see separate story in this issue.)
Ahmadinejad has said Israel should be wiped from the map, and that Israel soon shall cease to exist. He also said he envisions a world without the United States.
Separately, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she suspects global attempts to persuade Iran to abandon and surrender its nuclear materials and its missile technology will meet flat refusals from Tehran, the Associated Press reported today.
Clinton made her comments in a private meeting with a United Arab Emirates official.
While President Obama has said he would hold talks with Iranian leaders, after the Bush administration refused to do so without Iran abandoning its nuclear program, Obama is insistent that Iran must denuclearize.
Although Iran claims it produces fissile materials merely to fuel an electrical generating plant, the Obama administration and other Western powers believe Iran is moving to build nuclear weapons, a prospect they view with alarm. The UAE also is concerned, unsure of Iranian intentions.
Tehran is causing concern in part by steadily increasing the speed and amount of its nuclear materials production. (Please see separate story in this issue.)