US to deploy 14 extra interceptors against NKorean – not Iranian – missiles

The US will deploy 14 additional ground-based missile interceptors in Alaska and California following a North Korean threat of a preemptive missile strike against America. US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Friday: “These additional GBIs will provide a nearly 50% increase in our missile defense capability.” There are currently 26 interceptors based in Alaska, and four at California’s Vandenberg Air Force Base. The added missiles were part of a Bush administration plan that was scrapped by President Obama in 2009.

DEBKAfile: Although Obama admitted Thursday that Iran could achieve a nuclear weapon within a year, he last year dismantled the European segment of the US missile shield against Iran although it was part of the US defense system protecting Israel.