National Missile Defense

After the terrorist attacks on September 11th, 2001, President George W. Bush gained significant public support for his administration's idea of ending the Anti-ballistic Missile Treaty and for building a defense system or a missile shield to protect the United States. This was because many people were more concerned about their safety than about arms control. Further, Russia and most U.S. allies were not going to argue too strenuously with President Bush after his country had been so viciously attacked. The first question that needs to be answered prior to building a missile defense system is as follows: Are long-range missiles a realistic threat to the United States? If it is determined that these types of missiles are a threat, a second logical question is the following: Does the technology exist to build a system that could realistically counter this threat? And finally, what are the costs of such a system? This paper first assesses the current threat situation, including the threat posed by North Korea, Iraq, Iran, Russia, and China, and then discusses the President's proposed solution. Other topics covered are the costs of building a missile defense shield, current developments in missile defense systems, alternatives to President Bush's defense shield, and the effects of the shield on arms control and U.S. relations with Russia and China. In summary, the paper expresses the general solution to missile defense as a system of systems based in layers including fixed U.S.-based defenses to ensure the homeland is protected even with little or no warning; a means to kill the threat missile in its boost phase and before any countermeasures can be deployed; and a flexible, deployable defense capable of destroying a missile in the boost phase or at the very least in the terminal phase. In conclusion, the author presents a recommendation for future U.S. missile defense policy.(17 refs.)