Of course during the Reagan administration, a program that went under the name of "Star Wars" was put into development in order to defend the United States against missile attacks. Basically how it worked was that we would send a satelite into our atmosphere that would detect missile launches around the world and use a series of lasers/missiles to shoot down all bogeys heading for the US and its allies.

The fall of the Soviet Union gave the US the title of the only world "superpower." The Clinton administration cut funding for the program because they saw no imminent threat and hence no need. But with countries like North Korea, Libya, Syria, and other rogue nations with the possibility of launching weapons...should the program be restarted?

1. Is there enough of a threat to restart the "Star Wars" Program?

2. Do you think that the technology is possible with a couple more years of research?

3. Would it be a beneficial program to investigate?

My answer is no to all 3. Our biggest threat is likely to continue to be the small rogue countries and they can only deliver a few missles at relatively short range. We should continue to monitor them closely, and if it looks like they are going to do something stupid, we should level all their launch sites as a warning that we mean business.
Even if the technology becomes viable, it is an incredibly expensive proposition to build. I am sure that there are some technologists who would build it for the sake of advancing technology, but I would like to see reason prevail.

Right now we have bigger threats that do not involve ICBMs. However, many countries have these weapons and some have ever worsening security due to economic problems (various former eastern block countries). Then there is the possibility of a rogue nation getting such weapons in the future or a current nuclear nation going rogue in the future. I think the program deserves continued research.



A couple of years? I would think more like 10 years or so, though I have hard information on the program so this is just a guess.



Absolutely. Maybe we need to take it slow for now due to current budgetary concerns but this program should stay on the drawing board. If this program could be deployed we could all but eliminate the threat of a nuclear strike via ICBM from anywhere. And not just against us but against our allies as well.

If the program was launched it would take the nuclear leverage off the table. I believe this would lead to large reductions if not the elimination of ICBMs round the world. What's the point of having them if you can't hit your target?

Lets not toss this program under a bus, it could potentially eliminate the ICBM threat from the world. It could theoretically lead to world disarmament. Not likely, but at least we and our allies would no longer be held diplomatically hostage by Nuclear capable nations.

I think it would be a valuable contribution to world peace and security if a programme based on the "Star Wars" concept were extended to cover the whole globe - so nobody could launch strategic missiles at anybody else (including the USA itself, India/Pakistan, China/Taiwan, North Korea/Japan etc).

Of course, such a programme shouldn't be funded by the USA alone, at least not in use. Imagine NATO funding and developing it and offering it at a price to countries not involved in the development.