The U.S. has already spent over $100 billion on missile defenses with little to show; why throw good money after bad? To date, the U.S. has spent over $100 billion for a variety of national and theater missile systems. Even with this expenditure, the U.S. was able to destroy only a small proportion of crude Iraqi scud missiles in the Persian Gulf War. After more than 40 years, the U.S. should have learned that expensive defensive missile deployment (as opposed to research) is a dubious proposition. Past Costs of U.S. Ballistic Missile Defense Programs $ 1.5 billion - estimated pre-1962 spending $ 3.2 billion - Nike-Zeus (1962 - 1965) $ 9.2 billion - Nike-X (1962 - 1969) $ 21.3 billion - Safeguard (1968 - 1978) $ 13.8 billion - Other missile defense programs (1962 -1996) $ 59.0 billion -Strategic Defense Initiative/National Missile Defense/Theater Missile Defense (1983 - 1998) Total -- $108 billion (Figures in billions of fiscal 1996 dollars). Source: Atomic Audit: The Costs and Consequences of U.S. Nuclear Weapons since 1940 (Brookings Institution Press, forthcoming). Estimate does not include any costs associated with R&D, testing, or production of nuclear warheads (for example, those for the Sprint and Spartan missiles for Safeguard). "Voters were livid upon learning that $99 billion has been spent on ballistic missile defense, with little to show for the investment. Many asked "Where the hell is all the money going?" Nearly all participants were of the opinion that if we were not able to develop a system after spending $99 billion, then we better give up. "It's pretty hopeless," said one woman. "We haven't found something to do it with $99 billion, we're not going to," added another. As another woman summed it up, "Enough is enough." Mellman poll, May 1996 ___________________________________________ John Isaacs Council for a Livable World 110 Maryland Ave. NE #409 Washington, DC 20002 p:(202) 543-4100 f:(202)543-6297 http://www.clw.org/
Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list
