Office of the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives

January 20, 1998

The Honorable William J. Clinton
President
The United States of America
The White House
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

As you prepare for your State of the Union speech next week, I want to raise again a subject
of
continuing concern to all Americans. As you know, should any of our adversaries around the
globe today fire a ballistic missile capped with a nuclear, chemical, or biological warhead at the
people of the United States, we have no defense capability to prevent the destruction of its
intended target and the death of hundreds of thousands — if not millions — of American men,
women and children. In our arsenal, there is not one defense system or weapon that
could be
used to prevent the devastation of our country. Washington policy makers and our men and
women in uniform would be reduced to standing around watching the sky in anticipation of the
incoming missiles and the disaster that would follow minutes later.

As you know, at least twenty countries already possess or are developing weapons of mass
destruction and ballistic missile delivery systems. According to a public report issued by the CIA,
several of these — including North Korea, Iran, Iraq, Libya and Syria — pose the greatest threat to
the United States.

Our nation’s policy of relying solely on offensive weapons to deter a nuclear missile attack
from
the Soviet Union has been overtaken by events. The Soviet Union no longer exists and our
multiple adversaries in this more complicated world no longer play by the familiar Cold War rules.
Furthermore, fears of the proliferation of Russian ballistic missiles and related technology have
been confirmed. Iran reportedly has dramatically accelerated ongoing improvements in its
offensive missile capability as a result of acquisitions from Russia and is now poised to
produce
ballistic missiles capable of reaching American forces in the Persian Gulf and even NATO. In this
rapidly changing context, continuing to hold the security of the American people hostage to what
is, in effect, a policy of “assured vulnerability” makes no sense and could be characterized as
irresponsible.

There is a solution. We have the technical capability to correct this glaring hole in our
nation’s
defense. Congress has for three years been urging, cajoling, legislating, and appropriating in an
effort to convince you of the importance of committing your Administration to the deployment of
ballistic missile defense systems to protect all Americans.

Until now, you have prevented us from achieving this objective. I urge you to reconsider
your
opposition and use the opportunity of your State of the Union speech to announce your
commitment and intent to deploy a national missile defense system.

With best wishes,

/signed/

Newt Gingrich