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opinion:
our view
Missile defense
wasteful
In an effort to
make Americans feel safe at night, President Bush is making
a missile defense system a major factor in his new administration.
The idea of a missile
defense system began during the Reagan administration when
it was devised as a space-based system that would use laser
to shoot down incoming missiles. This plan proved to be not
only technically unfeasible but also illegal, as it violated
the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty of 1972.
This did not deter
the government from trying to develop the system through both
the Bush and Clinton administrations, but without success.
As it stands now,
the plan calls for a three-part defensive system, based on
the ground, in the sea, and in space. A full-scale system
could cost as much as $240 million, but to date, has not been
successfully tested.
The theory behind
the system is that a country with nuclear capability, and
the number is growing annually, would be reluctant to launch
missiles against the United States or its allies with a defensive
shield in place. This is ludicrous.
Any nation that
would consider launching a ballistic missile would face swift
and severe retaliation from the United States' massive nuclear
arsenal. That is the concept of Mutually Assured Destruction
that kept the United States and the former Soviet Union from
attacking each other during the Cold War.
There are a myriad
of other ways that a country could wage a dangerous attack
against the United States.
CIA Chief George
Tenet listed Osama bin Laden's terrorist network as the greatest
security threat to America. The domestic terrorist attack
on the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building showed that the world
contains more diverse threats than the traditional bogeyman
of the Evil Empire of Soviet Russia.
The United States
is more vulnerable through our growing dependence on the World
Wide Web for communications than from some rouge nation that
got a nuclear missile on sale from some international arms
dealer. A well-placed virus in some government or business
computers would wreak havoc on technologically obsessed Americans.
The main beneficiary
of a proposed missile defense system would be the defense
contractors that stand to reap billions in government contracts
for products that probably will not work.
A strong defense
is vital to the well being of a nation's citizens. Rather
than throw billions of dollars down a hole in a chase for
the mythical "Star Wars" system that will protect
us from all perceived evil, the Bush administration should
spend more time and effort in improving the overall quality
and morale of the armed forces.
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