Military Affairs

On Tuesday, July 11, the United States Missile Defense Agency successfully intercepted a test target with the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system.

Allowing a fear of privatization to quash innovation, suppress the exploration of untested practices, and impede breaking with convention will be a disservice to those who defended our country and now await meaningful change to a system that just about all involved say is badly needed.

Would it surprise you to know that the Pentagon wasted $28 million on purchasing expensive “forest” patterned camouflage uniforms for the Afghan Army? And it gets worse.

If the United States is to repeat the process of increasing troop numbers, we would be wise to ensure that the Army (and other services if they follow suit) does not fall into the traps of the early 2010s.

The answer is to turn that enemy against itself.

The THAAD system is one of many tools for intercepting North Korean (and other missiles) and yesterday’s successful test of the GMD system is not only promising but also a warning to North Korea’s supreme leader, Kim Jong-un.