The phantom defense : America's pursuit of the Star Wars illusion / Craig Eisendrath, Melvin A. Goodman and Gerald E. Marsh.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Eisendrath, Craig R.

Contributor:

Goodman, Melvin A. (Melvin Allan), 1938-

Marsh, Gerald E., 1939-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Ballistic missile defenses--United States.

Ballistic missile defenses.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xix, 190 pages) : illustrations

Edition:

1st ed.

Distribution:

London : Bloomsbury Publishing, 2024

Place of Publication:

Westport, Conn. : Praeger, c2001.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

In the past four decades, the United States has spent $85 billion pursuing the fantasy of an effective missile defense system to shield our nation against the threat of a nuclear attack. Recent public tests, while less exotic than some of the original "Star Wars" proposals, were spectacular failures and call into question the whole program's rationale. Neither the land-based system proposed by the Clinton administration, nor the alternatives proposed by earlier administrations, would ever work--regardless of how much R & D money is channeled into the project. Rather than enhancing national security, these doomed efforts would provoke a new arms race and alienate key allies. The authors apply their extensive insiders' expertise to argue that thoughtful diplomacy is the only real answer to meet America's national security goals.

Contents:

Ch. 1. Deja Vu All Over Again: A Short History of "Star Wars" Ch. 2. Anti-Missile Defense and the Political Maze Ch. 3. Two views of the World Ch. 4. The Exaggerated Threat of Ballistic Missiles Ch. 5. Why National Missile Defense Won't Work Ch. 6. Other Proposed National Missile Defense Systems Ch. 7. Geopolitical Implications of National Missile Defense Ch. 8. Arms Control and Policy Alternatives App. 1. Countermeasures App. 2. Waste, Fraud, and Abuse App. 3. The Center for International Policy

Notes:

Includes index.

ISBN:

9798400696602

9786610315512

9781280315510

1280315512

9780313016158

0313016151

OCLC:

928191058

Publisher Number:

10.5040/9798400696602 doi