WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Jim Mattis says the U.S. has not attempted to shoot down any of North Korea’s missiles — including two that have recently overflown Japan — because they have not posed a direct threat.
In remarks to reporters at the Pentagon, Mattis said U.S. and Japanese missile defenses have been ready to respond, but were not needed.
If a North Korean missile were to threaten U.S. or Japanese territory, he said, “that would elicit a different response from us.”
He said North Korea is deliberately carrying out tests that come as close as possible to provoking the U.S. without drawing a military response.
North Korea has said it is developing a long-range missile force capable of delivering a nuclear weapon to U.S. territory.
Shorter Mattis: We’re waiting for the President Trump to trigger the need.
At this time there is no need to expose the utter uselessness of our very expensive and highly prized white elephant, the THAAD anti-ballistic missile defense system.
Well, that and the very high likelihood of the missile defense system failing to shoot down the missile.
Demonstrating to the world the the hundred billion dollar ‘missile shield’ doesn’t reliably work wouldn’t be good at all