European Institute

As nation-states (in particular North Korea and Iran) have continued to work on the proliferation of missiles over the past few years, there has been a dramatic increase in interest on missile defense by the rest of the world. Lt. Gen. Henry A. “Trey” Obering III, Director of the Missile Defense Agency with the U.S. Department of Defense, discussed the status of the U.S. plan for missile defense in view of the increased threats to national security. He addressed the U.S. proposal to place new missile interceptors in Poland and the Czech Republic, which is the subject of great debate and has critical strategic implications for both Europe and the United States. Gen. Obering acknowledged European and Russian concerns and stressed transparency and collaboration among the U.S., E.U., NATO, and Russia.