Long-Range Ballistic Missile Defense in Europe
Abstract
Successive U.S. governments have urged the creation of an anti-missile system to protect against long-range ballistic missile threats from adversary states. The Bush Administration believed that North Korea and Iran represent strategic threats, and questioned whether they could be deterred by conventional means. The Bush Administration s position on this issue remained unchanged, even after the intelligence community assessed that the Iranian nuclear weapons program halted in 2003. The Bush Administration built long-range missile defense bases in Alaska and California to protect against adversary missile threats, especially North Korea. Although the system has been tested, most agree that further testing is necessary. The Bush Administration proposed deploying a ground-based mid-course defense (GMD) element of the larger Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS) in Europe to defend against an Iranian missile threat. The system would include 10 interceptors in Poland, a radar in the Czech Republic, and another radar deployed in a country closer to Iran, all to be completed by 2013 at a reported cost of at least $4 billion.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 21, 2009
- Accession Number
- ADA494276
Entities
People
- Carl Ek
- Steven A. Hildreth
Organizations
- Library of Congress