Calendar

SEPTEMBER 30

Missile Defense's Debut

Okay, so maybe the system—which consists at this point of a handful of interceptors in silos in Alaska, sitting atop boosters that haven't been tested, hooked up to radar that's not fully operational—doesn't actually work. But on this date the Department of Defense's missile shield, which was the centerpiece of the Bush Administration's pre-9/11 security strategy, officially goes "on alert." Early tests have not inspired confidence: the system has a five-for-eight record knocking down dummy missiles that were flying low and slow on well-rehearsed trajectories. And it's not known whether the system can function in severe weather, against multiple missiles arriving simultaneously, or when confronted by simple countermeasures such as balloons. The first tests under these conditions won't be run until 2007. To date the Pentagon has spent at least $90 billion on the program. ...