Sour Grapes
Of course we're Fair and Balanced!

2005-01-05

Bush's anti-missile defense unapt?



Scott Ritter, former US intelligence officer and weapons inspector in the Soviet Union and in Iraq and Time magazine's person of the week for 13 Sep 2002, wrote an article for the Christian Science Monitor alleging that the Bush version of 'Star Wars' would have to be completely redesigned to be effective and that this was likely proven by the recent test of a Russian missle [via Dave Farber's IP list].




On Christmas Eve 2004, the Russian Strategic Missile Force test fired an advanced SS-27 Topol-M road-mobile intercontinental ballistic Missile (ICBM). This test probably invalidated the entire premise and technology used in the National Missile Defense (NMD) system currently being developed and deployed by the Bush administration, and at the same time called into question the validity of the administration's entire approach to arms control and disarmament....

To counter the SS-27 threat, the US will need to start from scratch. And even if a viable defense could be mustered, by that time the Russians may have fielded an even more sophisticated missile, remaining one step ahead of any US countermeasures. The US cannot afford to spend billions of dollars on a missile-defense system that will never achieve the level of defense envisioned. The Bush administration's embrace of technology, and rejection of diplomacy, when it comes to arms control has failed.




My previous posts related to this subject are here and here.



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