North Korea Nuclear Missile Threat Needs US Iron Dome Defense Says Ben Stein

The North Korea nuclear missile threat has Ben Stein saying the United States should developer an Iron Dome missile defense system.

As previously reported by The Inquisitr, the North Korea missile test would have a range of over 2,000 miles and place the US island of Guam within striking distance. The United States and Japan offered North Korea nuclear talks, but so far there has not been a response.

North Korea’s official statement also promised nuclear war against the United States and some wonder whether North Korea’s nuclear weapons capabilities are being underestimated. Some experts believe America would be in danger from a North Korean EMP attack and not a standard nuclear missile. Government studies have estimated that up to 200 million Americans would die from starvation and disease in the first year after an EMP attack.

It’s grim estimates like these that have Ben Stein saying the Obama administration is failing on missile defense:

“Ronald Reagan was totally right when he said he wanted a ballistic missile defense system comprehensive enough to protect the U.S. from ICBM attacks. His liberal opponents scoffed and called it “Star Wars,” and said it couldn’t possibly work. They blocked money for its deployment on any scale. Nevertheless, in tests, it worked well.”

Ben Stein also noted that the Iron Dome missile defense system worked fairly well when it defended Israel from rocket attacks in the past, knocking down 80 percent of incoming rockets. Considering the potential future danger from either North Korea or Iran, Ben Stein says the United States isn’t doing enough:

“Why, if the challenge is real enough for Mr. Obama to beef up the limited defense systems we have, don’t we spend every dime we can beg, borrow, or steal to defend ourselves against nuclear rocket attacks from people who hate us? What more urgent priority do we have? So what if it’s expensive? What is Portland worth? What’s L.A. worth? What’s Seattle worth?”

The economy and Federal budget problems is probably the main reason. James Hasik, a defense industry consultant and fellow at the University of Texas at Austin, says, “The economics of a missile exchange do not tend to favor the defender.” ICBM missile defense is about as expensive as the ICBM nuclear weapons program. But the US has invested $270 million into Israel’s missile defense system, with Iron Dome missile batteries costing an estimated $50 million and Iron Dome interceptor rockets costing between $50,000 and $80,000.

Do you agree with Ben Stein that the Obama administration should push for a comprehensive Iron Dome nuclear missile defense system?