National Missile Defense: High-Technology in a Strategic Vacuum

Abstract

This essay is an attempt to return issues of national security strategy to the center of the debate over NMD deployment. After briefly reviewing the threat to the United States from ICBMs launched by so-called rogue-states and the technical characteristics of the NMD system intended for deployment if the President so decides, the author examines the broader strategic implications of NMD deployment for the United States. He argues that the expected benefits from NMD are outweighed by its strategic costs and that deploying it will be likely to diminish, rather than increase, American security. He proposes an alternative set of policies to NMD deployment, based on the military and diplomatic tools of statecraft. The proposed policies offer an acceptable level of security against the rogue-state ICBM while avoiding its strategic costs - and will, therefore, strengthen our overall national security strategy.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2000
Accession Number
ADA430981

Entities

People

  • John G. Fox

Organizations

  • National War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Counter WMD
  • Sensors
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Arms Control
  • Ballistic Missiles
  • Biological Weapons
  • Chemical Weapons
  • Defense Systems
  • Early Warning Systems
  • Geography
  • Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles
  • International Organizations
  • National Security
  • New York
  • Strategic Defense Initiative
  • Theater Ballistic Missiles
  • Treaties
  • United States
  • War Colleges
  • Weapons Of Mass Destruction

Readers

  • Missile Defense Systems.
  • Strategic Security Studies