This Senate action could help speed things along...
The United States Senate Votes 90-5 in Recognition of the Threat from Iran and Moves Forward on Missile DefenseLast update: 7/13/2007 12:33:00 PMWASHINGTON, July 13, 2007 /PRNewswire-USNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Riki Ellison, President of the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance (MDAA), told a national audience that our nation's missile defense received an overwhelming vote of confidence by a margin of 90 to 5 in the Senate. Mr. Ellison states: "The United States Senate passed an amendment yesterday 90-5 declaring the threat from Iran both in ballistic missiles and nuclear proliferation and put forward a policy to develop and deploy missile defense as soon as technically feasible to defend NATO, our deployed forces and the United States from Iran." Mr. Ellison continues: "This 90-5 bi partisan dominating majority of United States Senate reinforces both the need and the reality of missile defense. The amendment stands as a vanguard against Iran and those that defy the international community. Missile defense momentum continues and is further bolstered by our United States Senate's voice to add to the recent developments in Europe on this issue. Earlier this month, President Putin offered cooperation with NATO to share ballistic missile data and to deploy an advanced early warning radar either in Azerbaijan or in Southern Russia sharing that data with the United States and Europe. The 26 nations of NATO have also moved in support of Missile Defense over the recent months as 21 of them now support Missile Defense, 9 of them are actively developing missile defense with the United States not to mention that NATO continues to put sizable investment into missile defense. In addition countries such as France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Netherlands are developing and deploying their own missile defense systems which will be coordinated to protect NATO as well their own national interests." Mr. Ellison concludes: "We applaud this significant recognition of the threat from Iran as both a reflection of our allies and a leadership position. This amendment from the Senate gives our Military the confidence and mandate to move forward and bring the best solution possible to defend our deployed troops and our mutual populations of Europe and the United States." "90-5 is a worthy statement of support. Thank you Senator Sessions for introducing the amendment. Thank you Senator Reid for leading the majority, and Senator McConnell for leading the minority to reach a solid and profound consensus." "On behalf of making the World a safer place and our nation more secure, we extend appreciation and recognition to all those Senators listed below that had foresight,
