It's your oft stated desire to see priority
given to ambitious space missions [manned and unmanned]
to NEO asteroids, relegating plans for manned lunar [and Mars]
exploration/colonization/exploitation to a much lower
priority...

I don't dispute the fact that various asteroids are exceeding rich
in metals, silicates, volatiles and hydrates, but I think
they're not easy to exploit without deepspace colonization.

As for Earth protection from NEO's? I certainly don't argue against
prioritizing efforts to develop somekind of space-based defence
system against them, but such ambitious goals need political
galvanization.
And where is that political galvanization going to come from?