Ballistic Missile Defense -- The Crux of the Matter

摘要

Today this country stands devoid of defenses against the weapon which will cause the greatest loss to life and property in the event of a general nuclear war, the intercontinental ballistic missile. The threat is present and there are many who believe that the means to combat it are also available. The purpose of this paper is to discuss and assess the issues involved in the controversy over deployment of a ballistic missile defense (BMD) for the protection of the continental United States. This paper concludes that consideration of active antimissile defense must include the following points: means other than massive retaliation must be provided for the failure of deterrence, a balanced deterrent against all forms of attack is required, defense contributions short of complete protection are meaningful, and the possible saving of millions of US lives warrants implementation of a combined shelter-BMD program.