National Missile Defense - NMD - Currents - Brief Article

New Internationalist, Oct, 2002

President Ronald Reagan's Star Wars has re-emerged under recent US administrations as National Missile Defense (NMD). NMD will theoretically enable the US to destroy any missile fired at it (or its allies) while that missile is still travelling towards it in space, before reentering the atmosphere. Scientific organizations such as the Union of Concerned Scientists, MIT Security Studies Program and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology openly question the viability of NMD as a workable defence system. Sceptics say that its effectiveness in stopping terrorist attacks will be marginal, as terrorists are far more likely to use 11 September-style tactics rather than missiles.

Sources: wwwpeacecourier.com/PeaceCourier/pcianfeb2001.htm; www.afsc.org/nero/pesp/jgswed.htm; www.fas.org/ssp/bmd/index.html