Kyl Excerpts from Missile Defense Conference

WASHINGTON, D.C. U.S. Senator Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) delivered remarks on missile defense priorities last week at the American Foreign Policy Council's "Missile Defense and American Security" conference. The following are excerpts: "Will we build upon the investments and progress of the past 25 years with the energy, sense of purpose and resources necessary to counter the threats we face, or will we hold back our nascent missile defense capability, preventing it from being all it can be?" "You know the right answer let us mobilize to win the fight." "At the conclusion of President Reagan's speech 25 years ago he asked a simple question: Ëœisn't it worth every investment necessary to free the world from the threat of nuclear war?'" "Given the unreliability of treaties to accomplish the goal, Reagan's motto of Ëœpeace through strength' is the answer to his question." "And that means the best possible missile defense system we can deploy." "The leading Democrat [candidate for President] has gone from statements such as 'I don't agree with a missile defense system' to promising that he would save billions in wasteful defense spending by cutting missile defense system research by as much as $10 billion." "This is the defense posture of the individual the polls say may be the next Commander-in-Chief." "And he's proposing cutting $10 billion out of missile defense, the budget for which is not even $10 billion this year!" "This is not just ill informed speech making, it is very dangerous policy and it is dangerous for a candidate to speak this way when we know our adversaries listen very carefully to what we say." Sen. Jon Kyl is the Senate Republican Whip and serves on the Senate Finance and Judiciary committees. Visit his website at www.kyl.senate.gov.