ARLINGTON, VA — Women are the guardians of the health and welfare of their families. Frequently, it is women who make the decisions on everything from who the kids’ doctors will be, to whether the family owns a home alarm system or a dog. Using a ballistic missile defense system to protect our cities, neighborhoods and homes is no less vital to our children’s safety than the act of a parent locking the front door at night to deter intruders.


“If I could draw a picture for American women of our country’s current defense situation, it would consist of three frames: here is your house, here is the Chinese missile heading for your house, here is the pile of rubbish that was your house,” said Nancy M. Pfotenhauer, president of the IWF.


“It is a such simple picture because we have no defense against a foreign missile. The people who want to stop the ballistic missile defense program really want us to be defense-less, and as a mother, I cannot stand by quietly and let that happen.”


“The Independent Women’s Forum believes that all women should know some facts about our nation’s defense:


1. The threat is real. More than 30 countries, many of who are hostile to the United States, have ballistic missiles.


2. The technology is available. This is rocket science, and it is hard, but not impossible. The United States has conducted numerous successful tests of intercepting airborne missiles.


3. There is entrenched opposition. In light of real threats, some people are still saying that missile defense is too expensive. The truth is, the government spends less on missile defense in a year than Americans spend on video rentals.


4. The world has changed. Our country has been restricting its research and testing of a missile defense system because of the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty signed with the now-defunct Soviet Union in 1972. Then, only two countries had missile capabilities, us and them. Not so anymore.