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Email this citationCIAO DATE: 09/04
The Truth About Missile Defense: Will Science Make A Difference?
Philip Coyle
Center for Defense Information
October 2003
Abstract
In political Washington, one can get the impression that everything is “spin”, that there are no real truths. In the news media different views are aired and debated, but one view is said to be no better than another, and certainly political views cannot be proven the way we learn mathematical proofs in school.
By contrast, the American Physical Society released a comprehensive study of the scientific feasibility of boost–phase missile defense. Two years in the making, the study takes no policy position on whether the United States should pursue ballistic missile defense. Also, the report only examines the technical feasibility of one approach to missile defense, namely shooting down enemy missiles in their boost–phase, that is, within the first two to four minutes after launch. Nevertheless, the APS report should be required reading for Members of Congress and other decision makers interested in missile defense, pro or con.
