U.S. Missle Defense Program: Doesn't Work

Tweet To supplement the article below about the U.S.'s Polish "defense shield," here is an article by some guy who is a senior fellow at the World Policy Institute (whatever that is). His name is William Hartung. http://rokovoko.blogspot.com/2007/07/opinion-foolish-anti-missiles-in-europe.html

"As critics of the U.S. missile defense program have long noted, it is a system that doesn’t work aimed at a problem that doesn’t exist.

"This is doubly true for the Bush administration’s plan to put missile interceptors in Poland and anti-missile radar in the Czech Republic.

"By optimistic projections, the European-based system would cost $3.5 billion, and would be ready to go by 2013. U.S. officials involved with the project argue that this is early enough to deal with the highly touted Iranian threat, since they believe that Tehran will not be able to develop a nuclear weapon and mount it on a ballistic missile until at least 2015. If this is so, there is much more time available to negotiate a cap on Iran’s nuclear program than Bush administration officials have officially acknowledged. Negotiations would be more effective, and would save billions of dollars that could be used for far better purposes than missile defense.

"And what kind of system would exist by 2013, if – in a first for the missile defense program – it was actually developed on schedule? Most likely one that is no more effective than current missile interceptors, which have given no evidence that they can stop an incoming warhead under realistic conditions.

"If the proposed system only wasted money, that would be outrageous enough. But it is also provoking a three-way political crisis among Europe, Russia, and the United States. Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn of Luxembourg has raised one common objection: “We don’t want to be a political football between Russia and the United States. We want the United States, Russia, and Europe to play together in a common defense project.”