A new Government Accountability Office (GAO) piece is citing multiple faults in the Obama Administration’s missile defense plans for Europe, which he announced in the wake of backing off the Bush Administration’s plan.
The report says the new plan lacks any clear guidance, a full schedule, and projections for its costs are likely overly optimistic. Even assuming the system becomes operational, it is unclear if it will work.
Which is really a pretty secondary concern, as the defense system’s nominal target, Iran, doesn’t have missiles which can reach most of Europe to begin with. Likewise, the prospect of dramatic overcosts is likely to be shrugged off by officials, who are spending on the system more for its own sake than anything else.
Still the questions about oversight are likely to continue going forward, particularly as other US programs have managed to lose billions of dollars and most officials seem to prefer frittering away billions when there is proper paperwork.
