Trying to attack on missile defense

President Bush, trying to make the missile Defense program a political issue:

"I think those who oppose this ballistic missile system don't understand the threats of the 21st century," the president told applauding workers at defense contractor Boeing in Pennsylvania, a crucial state in Bush's bid for re-election.

Someone tell me which attack, including 9/11, the Cole bombing, the African embassy bombings, the Olympic bombing, or the first attack on the World Trade Centers would have been prevented by the missile defense program?

And let's not forget this from a report commissioned by those developing the program:

Three recent independent reports have highlighted the formidable technical failings of both national and theater missile defense efforts thus far. The most recent--and devastating--is a review by former defense officials chaired by retired Gen. Larry Welch, which warned that the programs were in a "rush to failure."

In particular, the Welch panel said in its report, made public in March, the national missile defense program was "highly unlikely" to succeed. It lacks coherence and a realistic plan and it should be fundamentally restructured.

The Welch study, it should be noted, was commissioned by the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization (BMDO), the same office that is in charge of the program.