A Republican congressman is questioning the Obama administration's new European missile defense plan that uses Navy ships as the main line of defense, raising the prospect that it would leave the Pacific theater vulnerable.rnIn an Oct. 8 letter to Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Michele Flournoy, Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, wrote he is concerned about how the redeployment of sea-based missile defense systems ~ specifically Navy Aegis ships ~ from the Pacific to the Mediterranean would affect the United States' relationship with its allies in the Pacific.rn"Specifically, I am concerned that such actions could potentially leave our friends and allies in the Pacific, as well as, most importantly, Americans in this part of the world, vulnerable to attack," Wilson's letter states. "I am also worried it may send a signal to our allies that the United States is no longer duly concerned about ballistic missile threats to U.S. or Pacific security. The U.S. has already made commitments on this matter to important allies, and to degrade our missile defense system in the Pacific is reversing course.
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