MSNBC - Anti-ballistic missile passes test
Missile Defense System, the Star Wars shield, has finally hit the broad side of a barn. Where years ago political pundits made a great stink over funding what many claimed was a bottomless money sucking pit of a defense scam; claiming it would never in a million years work, they now have to eat their words.
Actually most in the media don't ever admit when they are wrong, they move on to something else to be negative about. Obviously, the U.S is still a long way off from having a viable missile defense system but the defense community is making headway. Will it ever work?
I don't know. It can if we continue to fund the project. So far we've shown as a race that as long as we aren't trying to break any scientific laws, we can overcome almost any technological obstacle with ingenuity and perseverance. Oh yeah, and a lot of cold hard, rob from the poor give to contractors, cash.
The debate will rage on about the legal issues involved in building such a platform. The U.S has signed a host of treaties preventing anyone from developing a defensive missile system. In our newly, security conscious mindset American's as a whole are more open to developing the means to protect ourselves from foreign threats.
At the end of the day it makes for an interesting conversation. It brings up a lot of questions. Chiefly on my mind is the question that if we develop a system to stop incoming missiles then who do we share this technology with? If anyone?
The Arrow missile tests were designed around the idea of Israel protecting them from a short range missile. The realistic scenario of Israel’s neighbors attacking with short range missiles is one they take very seriously after Iraq fired 39 Scud missiles at Israel in 1991. This missile test is part of an ongoing joint venture between the U.S and Israel.
So if Israel gets to be protected who else does as well? All of our alies. Just our close allies? How about South Korea? What does trade agreements does India have to sign in order to get a hold of a missile shield? They'd do almost anything to be protected against Pakistan and then a war with them would be very one sided for the Indians.
As with all new technology, the creation of which raises interesting questions. Whether or not the system can work seems to be a little more likely. What are we going to do now? We can't wait any longer to have this discussion.
Of course, this is only one man shouting alone in the dark.
