MDAA was proud to learn of Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfelds visit on Saturday, August 26th to Fort Greely, Alaska. This trip marked the Secretarys historic first visit to the Ground Based Interceptor missile site, where ten defensive interceptors are currently in operation. Several strong messages of resolve were inherent in the Secretarys visit, and they are as follows:

‘Build it they will not come’

Secretary Rumsfeld has continuously shown outward support and appreciation for the troops manning our missile defense system. Yet this visit to the GBI site further endorses this country’s firm belief in our missile defense system. The Secretarys visit is not only meaningful to the American community, but serves as an eye-opener to the international community as well particularly North Korea and Iran. They, as well as others, must ask themselves the worth of investing billions of dollars in developing ballistic missiles.

Just as focused on the Secretary’s visit, are the two countries in Central Europe. Poland and the Czech Republic share the interest of deploying a defensive missile site, similar to the United States, in order to defend continental Europe against the growing threat of medium and intermediate range missiles from the Middle East and particularly Iran.

The citizens and governing bodies from Poland and Czech Republic must address the reality of:

Build it they will not come

Fort Greely is one of our most important posts in the nation. It hosts the Ground Based Interceptor force that is providing security against long-range missiles that could attack our country.

We are proud and thankful for the troops dedication.