North Koreas saber-rattling has caused President Obama to
reverse his first-administration hold on a missile-defense
system and move ahead with a plan to spend $1 billion that could
establish a missile site at Fort Drum in the next few years. In
response to rising tensions on the Korean peninsula, Defense
Secretary Chuck Hagel announced that the United States would
deploy 14 ground-based interceptor missiles at Fort Greely,
Alaska, which already has 26 interceptors. Four more are based
at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The administration
will also install a second advanced radar system in Japan that
can track a North Korean missile launch. Defense officials
believe the North has missiles capable of reaching Alaska and
Hawaii, although it is not yet capable of striking the
continental United States. The North is not believed to have the
capability of mounting nuclear warheads on the missiles. The
administrations response is well justified by the escalating
threat. Last month, North Korea conducted it