Wednesday
Mar052008
25 years after "Star Wars," ballistic missiles still a threat
The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform held a hearing today to investigate the necessity of a ballistic missile defense system and assess the relative threats of conventional and non-conventional attack.
March 23 will mark the 25th anniversary of President Reagan's announcement of the now famous 'Star Wars' Anti-Ballistic Missile system. 120 billion has been spent on the project to date, now at a rate of nearly 10 billion a year, a rate projected to double in the coming years.
Ranking member Dan Burton (R-Ind.) stressed the potential for unseen threats and the need for a multi-faceted approach to security including missile defense.
Witness Joseph Cirincione, President of the Ploughshares Fund, emphasized the fact that the threat from ballistic missiles has decreased since the late 1980's both in number of missiles and number of countries with missiles by about 80%. He said many of the missiles that remain in the current count are in friendly hands, and most are "SCUD" type, or shorter range.
Baker Spring, an F.M. Kirby Research Fellow at the Heritage Foundation, claimed that we live in a 'multi-polar missile world' demanding a reworking of current ABM strategy to include space and sea based options and deal with threats from North Korea, Iran, and the potential for allied nations to pull the U.S. into conflict.
Steven Hildreth, a specialist in Defense and Foreign Affairs for the Congressional Research Service, stated that the technology and effort required to create ICBM's and ABM systems is so large that only 5 nations have ever succeeded, despite estimates of vast proliferation. He downplayed the likelihood of further nations going to such lengths and costs.
Dr. Steven Flynn, Senior Fellow for National Security Studies for the Council on Foreign Relations, reminded the committee that much more money is spent on protecting military bases than on protecting cities. The same is true of missile defense in relation to non conventional attacks. Such practices, he claims, provide incentive to strike in the latter fashion.
March 23 will mark the 25th anniversary of President Reagan's announcement of the now famous 'Star Wars' Anti-Ballistic Missile system. 120 billion has been spent on the project to date, now at a rate of nearly 10 billion a year, a rate projected to double in the coming years.
Ranking member Dan Burton (R-Ind.) stressed the potential for unseen threats and the need for a multi-faceted approach to security including missile defense.
Witness Joseph Cirincione, President of the Ploughshares Fund, emphasized the fact that the threat from ballistic missiles has decreased since the late 1980's both in number of missiles and number of countries with missiles by about 80%. He said many of the missiles that remain in the current count are in friendly hands, and most are "SCUD" type, or shorter range.
Baker Spring, an F.M. Kirby Research Fellow at the Heritage Foundation, claimed that we live in a 'multi-polar missile world' demanding a reworking of current ABM strategy to include space and sea based options and deal with threats from North Korea, Iran, and the potential for allied nations to pull the U.S. into conflict.
Steven Hildreth, a specialist in Defense and Foreign Affairs for the Congressional Research Service, stated that the technology and effort required to create ICBM's and ABM systems is so large that only 5 nations have ever succeeded, despite estimates of vast proliferation. He downplayed the likelihood of further nations going to such lengths and costs.
Dr. Steven Flynn, Senior Fellow for National Security Studies for the Council on Foreign Relations, reminded the committee that much more money is spent on protecting military bases than on protecting cities. The same is true of missile defense in relation to non conventional attacks. Such practices, he claims, provide incentive to strike in the latter fashion.
tagged 
ICBM, abm, ballistic missiles, defense, nuclear, star wars, terrorism in News/Commentary
ICBM, abm, ballistic missiles, defense, nuclear, star wars, terrorism in News/Commentary
Reader Comments (1)
After the devastation of Chernobyl, even the Russians realized that there was no way any country could ever again use a nuclear weapon. It would leave such devastation (and devastating reprisals) that civilization itself might cease to exist.
Why is it that the government of the United States is still in denial on this subject? Even I can see it.
It has been estimated that this country has spent five trillion dollars on nuclear weapons since 1945. If that money had been spent on infrastructure, education and health care our country would surely be in much better shape than it is today.
What will it take to bring that realization to our elected officials?