Missile Defense that Really Works
In the Jan. 19 issue [“What Worries Me AboutObama,” Commentary, page 18], Andy Fowkes seems to think that
U.S.
missile defenses “work” because the officers in charge “… have said rather unequivocally that the system is capable of shooting down an incoming warhead.” Let’s assume the officers are not overly optimistic, although that is a definite possibility. This defense can be penetrated simply by launching two missiles. One may get shot down, and the other takes out an American city. In general, missile defenses can be saturated fairly easily as missiles are more robust than anti-missile systems.
There is a missile defense system that has been proven, beyond a reasonable doubt, to work. For decades, theSoviet Unionhad the means, the motivation and the shear ruthlessness to destroyAmericawith a nuclear missile attack that never came. It didn’t come because the American counter attack would have completely destroyed theSoviet Union.IranandNorth Koreaare a pale shadow of the power of the old Soviet Union. They are not suicidal and know that any nuclear attack on Americaor her allies would result in their country turning into a radioactive parking lot. The only credible scenario where either would launch such an attack is ifAmericaattacked them first.
This can be avoided, quite simply, by not attacking them.
The real threat to American cities isn’t nuclear tipped missiles from
Iran
or
North Korea
which, in any case, don’t exist at the moment.
The real threat is an al Qaeda purchased or stolen atomic bomb smuggled into an American city.
America
is bankrupting itself – $10 trillion in debt and counting. We cannot afford to spend huge sums of money on things that are very unlikely and systems that work in only an inadequate sense. That money must be spent on the real threat – securing and reducing the number of the world’s nuclear weapons.
Although
Iran
, in the past, has sponsored suicide bombers it should be noted that Iranians themselves don’t do suicide bombings.
They did launch semi-suicidal human wave attacks in the Iran-Iraq war – but so did the English, French, Germans and others in World War I.
Al Globus
Capitola
,
Calif.
