The United States of America has been in a dispute for a number of years as to deploy a National Missile Defense System or not deploy an NMD in Eastern Europe. The United States should deploy an NMD system. They should do so because third world countries are becoming ever more powerful and capable of building nuclear warheads, the number of nuclear capable countries has doubled since the Cold War, and the threat of the U.S being attacked is ever more realistic. “The question is whether the US will be prepared to defend itself.” (Pawlick). With the number of nuclear capable countries rising every few years the threat of the U.S being attacked is more possible. Rising technological capabilities of the Third World, has given notice to the possibility of more nuclear rivals. We can no longer protect ourselves with threatening countries with retaliation from a strike. If these rouge states don’t value the lives of their citizens or soldiers they may not be deterred by the threat of retaliation. On March 5, 1970 the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty went into effect. The treaties purpose was to limit the spread of nuclear weapons to the five countries that possessed them, the United States, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, France, and the Peoples Republic of China. This treaty was also placed to eventually bring these countries to their own disarmament. Now, there are four new nuclear countries which are not part of the NPT. With these facts it should raise the brow of every single citizen in the United States and across the country. Just knowing this should be a huge factor to why the US should deploy an NMD system to protect ourselves. On the other hand there is a down side to deploying an NMD system in Eastern Europe. With countries other than the US hosting a US NMD system could make that country feel like a target in the time of an attack which is not good for public relations with other countries. Also, the “US military budget exceeds that of the other major powers combined” (Anderson) we are more powerful than all other countries so “unless a foreign leader is intent on seeing his country destroyed” (Anderson) they are highly not likely to directly attack the US deeming an NMD system useless. Another reason that an NMD system would not be a wise decision is because they are very costly and ineffective. Since the early 1960’s the US government has spent over $143 billion on missile defense. The money spent on this program so far has not brought any results or progress. “It is very difficult to intercept a missile that travels as fast as five miles per second: one of the problems is that the missile body is much more likely to be hit, as it is a much larger target than the warhead” (Anderson). These systems are purposed to defend against intercontinental ballistic missiles from entering our country; but, what about dirty bombs, small portable devices used by terroristic organizations. How is an NMD system going to protect against a suitcase? It can’t. For another example the 9/11 attack “clearly, a missile defense is powerless against this sort of devastating attack.” (Anderson). So, “ at this point, it is unrealistic to assume that a successful, functioning NMD system will be achieved in the next several years.” (Anderson). For our country to have a successful NMD system the US would have to do update their aging stockpile of nuclear weapons. The United States missile systems are becoming closer and closer toward instability. “America’s missile defenses are facing a crisis of funding and political philosophy as automatic budget cuts near” (Hodge). IF the US is cutting budgets toward the defense system they can’t properly update their stockpile. Since Obama was first elected for presidency he has been clear about his support of nuclear disarmament and a goal of “global- zero”. If this is Obama’s goal The United States aging stockpile will be put on a back burner and keep aging. If
mistake. North Korea has a massive mechanized army poised along the demilitarized zone and an extensive missile force that threatens its neighbors with chemical and biological agents. Moreover, Pyongyang has a history of conducting acts of war and terrorism against the United States, South Korea, and Japan. Experts debate whether North Korea has already created nuclear weapons and the missiles to hit the United States or whether that capability is another year or two away. But there is no doubt what…
Nuclear missiles threatened to devastate the world; all it took was the push of a button by the two superpowers of the world at that time. By the 1960s the tension and mutual distrust between the countries had reached an all time high, leading to an event that could spell the end. This was the Cuban Missile Crisis; it was a twelve day ordeal where the world was on the brink of nuclear destruction. In those twelve days, JFK took a stand for the ideal of Democracy in the climate of fear. From the…
The Cuban missile crisis and its aftermath was the most serious U.S.-Soviet crisis of the Cold War even though the crisis was very short, the crisis was so extreme it finally caught President Kennedy’s eye. The Cuban missile crisis was also the time were the world almost came to nuclear war. The United states armed forces were ready to attack whenever Cuba was going to attack, so Cuba had nuclear missiles aimed right at the Untied States if the United States armed forces invaded the island. However…
History 1005 Assignment: A Fog of War Major Themes and Key Points: Weapons can destroy society. Missiles terribly close to destroying all of Cuba. War and conflict. Proportionality should be a guideline at war. Without proportionality the world could be destroyed at war. Many bombs dropped on Japan. President Johnson needed McNamara to come up with a plan to kill the Vietnamese. We see what we want to believe. Declared war on tyranny and aggression. Vietnam thought America was trying to colonize…
that travel over 17,000 miles an hour. They design, develop, and test aircraft, spacecraft, and missiles and supervise the manufacturing of these products. Aerospace engineers who work with aircraft are considered aeronautical engineers, and those working specifically with spacecraft are considered astronautical engineers. Aerospace engineers develop new technologies for use in flight, defense systems, and space exploration. They often use Computeraided Design (CAD), robotics, and lasers and advanced electronic optics to assist them…
and Film 11/27/12 One Hell of a Gamble The Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962 brought the United States and the Soviet Union closer to nuclear war than perhaps any other incident in the Cold War (1946– 1991). The crisis began on October 14, 1962, when American U-2 spy planes flying over Cuba brought back photographs revealing that sites for medium- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles were under construction. The Cuban missiles posed a serious strategic problem for President John F.…
The Cuban Missile Crisis Fifty years ago, The Cuban Missile Crisis made a historic event which put many countries in the world on panic of a nuclear war. United States and Russia nearly started a third world war during The Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. The Cuban Revolution, Communism, and military competition, were causes that put the world at the edge of a disastrous third world war. However, that was not the effect, thanks to the President at that time who was John F Kennedy and Premier Nikita…
Cold War Definitions 1.North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO): An association of European and North American countries. Formed in 1949 for defense against the Soviet Union after World War II. NATO is a treaty between the 28 countries who are sworn to respond with help, by political or military means, if a member was attack by an external party . 2.Warsaw Pact: A post-World War II military alliance involving the USSR and the Soviet-bloc countries of Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany…
signed an agreement setting these limits. 2. One of these agreements limited anti-ballistic missiles (ABMs), or missiles that could shoot down other missiles from hostile countries. 3. During the 1980s, Ronald Reagan launched a program to build a “Star Wars”, missile defense system against nuclear attack. 4. The two sides signed the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) in 1991. iv. Building Defenses 1. American and Soviet arms control agreements led to an era of détente – or relaxation of…
spectrum (radio waves, radar) in war, such as employing electromagnetic signals for one’s own benefit while denying their use to an enemy 6) Stealth Technology: use of special radar-absorbent materials and unusual shapes in the design of aircraft, missiles, and ships to scatter enemy radar Ch. 5 Internal Conflict (p. 177-188) 1) Irredentism: form of nationalism whose goal is to regain territory lost to another state; can lead directly to violent interstate conflicts 2) Ethnic Cleansing: euphemism…