Missile defense: a forgotten program that is fomenting a global nuclear arms race
Missile defense has a strong linkage with the weapons in outer space. Missile defense has largely fallen off the agenda of the peace movement as a fait accompli. However, drawing from his experience as a Congressional staffer and as a Senior analyst for the Government Accountability Office, Subrata Ghoshroy will argue that it is not so.
Both Russia and China are strong critics of the U.S. missile defense program because they believe it is really directed against them despite US contention that the program is directed towards the so-called “rogue states,” like Iran and North Korea. Russia has highlighted two items on the agenda for the “Strategic Stability Dialog” with the U.S. Those are missile defense and the prevention of an arms race in outer space, respectively. U.S. pursuit of a global missile defense program and the ongoing deployment of such systems in Europe are driving both Russia and China to modernize their nuclear arsenals causing a dangerous arms race.
Ghoshroy argues, contrary to the conventional wisdom, that missile defense, which is notably still in the R&D phase after 30 years and 300 billion dollars, is a low-hanging fruit that is ripe for a serious budget cut and roll back that would have no impact on U.S. national security. On the contrary, it could significantly improve chances of further reductions in nuclear arms. See his September 2020 article in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, “Why does missile defense still enjoy bipartisan support in Congress?”
Ghoshroy will discuss the recommendations of the recently released report of the international working group called “Moving Beyond Missile Defense and Space Weapons,” which was sponsored jointly by the International Network of Engineers and Scientists for Global Responsibility (INES) and Abolition 2000. Read the full report at: http://inesglobal.net/mbmds-report/
Subrata Ghoshroy is a research affiliate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Program in Science, Technology, and Society, and a specially-appointed Professor at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan. Earlier, for 20 years, he was a senior engineer in the field of high-energy lasers. Later, he was a professional staff member of the House Armed Services Committee, and a senior analyst at the Government Accountability Office, respectively. He is the first and so far, the only whistle-blower in the history of GAO. He is the co-Chair of INES and a member of MAPA for many years.
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