Israel, with its Iron Dome and Arrow anti-ballistic missile defense systems, has the world's most robust national missile defenses in the world.

CNN: Can U.S. help Gulf shield itself against Iran?

The combination of such armaments with ever-expanding capabilities to deliver them via ballistic missiles makes U.S. anti-missile systems, even less-than-perfect ones, more needed than ever.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Will Obama 'go to' defense?

The requirement for prompt deployment of national anti-missile systems to end America's current, utter vulnerability to ballistic missile attack -- a requirement the Clinton Administration has attempted to deny by politicizing relevant threat assessments.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Center For Security Policy

At a time when the Obama administration is rushing anti-missile defenses systems to the Persian Gulf in the face of intensifying regional concerns about Iran's ballistic missiles, one could be forgiven for thinking that every effort would be made to bring to bear the Airborne Laser system's ability to perform boost-phase intercepts.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Why not the best?

There is a lot of talk at the moment about the importance of testing various U.S. anti-missile systems to ensure they work properly and will provide ever-more-urgently needed protection against emerging ballistic missile threats.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Center For Security Policy