IP: MISSILE DEFENSE: COUNTERMEASURES REPORT CALLS FOR DELAY

[David Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>]

2. MISSILE DEFENSE: COUNTERMEASURES REPORT CALLS FOR DELAY.  A
panel of senior scientists convened by the Union of Concerned
Scientists has concluded that the National Missile Defense system
currently being tested is ineffective, and called for deferring a
decision on deployment.  A government intelligence report issued
last September acknowledged that emerging missile states are
capable of using decoys.  Alas, the NMD system, has so far not
proven to be effective even against targets without real
countermeasures (WN 24 Mar 00).  The Pentagon plans just one more
attempt at a clean hit before the President's scheduled October
decision on deployment.  The system has no prospect of defending
against missiles delivering chemical or biological weapons, which
would likely be divided into hundreds of small warheads for
better distribution (though why a rogue nation would bother with
missiles for delivery of such weapons remains unclear).  If there
is an explicit and credible missile threat from a rogue state,
the panel noted, its missiles could be destroyed before they are
launched, in accordance with the right of self-defense.  The only
real defense against missile attacks is still deterrence.  The
report and an animation are available at www.ucsua.org/arms/.

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THE AMERICAN PHYSICAL SOCIETY (Note: Opinions are the author's
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