MDAA official says Ahmadinejad is a danger

NEW YORK, Sept. 28 (UPI) -- A top official from the Washington-based Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance says the Iranian president's recent speeches reinforce the need for missile defense.

Riki Ellison, president and founder of the MDAA, during a recent speech called Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's denouncement of the U.N. Security Council a threat to the world.

Ahmadinejad recently spoke to the U.N. General Assembly and Columbia University in New York. Ellison said the purpose of Ahmadinejad's visit was an effort to galvanize his support in the Middle East and increase opposition in the United States.

Ellison called Ahmadinejad's remarks a threat to the American way of life.

"His (Ahmadinejad's) statements cannot be dismissed, cast aside or ignored," Ellison said, in a statement. "Iran is a highly sophisticated, educated society with great resources and political will coupled with religious fundamentalism. Led by President Ahmadinejad, Iran is exponentially more threatening to our Nation, Europe, and the world than North Korea or any other country represented at the United Nations."

Ellison called U.N. economic sanctions to stop Iran from going forward with its nuclear program a failure.

"A robust, layered International Missile Defense System will negate Iran's capability to threaten with nuclear weapons the United States, Europe, Israel, and other countries," Ellison said. "Just as importantly, deploying Missile Defense systems, using both sensors and interceptors, in Europe and surrounding areas will stabilize and give international entities such as the United Nations more time and collective strength to impose sanctions, resolutions and other means to resolve this international crisis."