Should We Build a Missile Defense?

• Author: Weldon, Curt
• Position: Brief Article

Not if it won't work, opponents say

YES

Imagine what our world would be like if our nation's greatest thinkers and scientists gave up every time someone said they were destined to fail. The Wright Brothers never would have gotten off the ground at Kitty Hawk, and the United States never would have sent a man to walk on the moon.

Opponents of the proposed National Missile Defense system say it will not work because the interceptor won't be able to tell the difference between an enemy warhead and decoys. But just as improvements have been made to airplanes since the time of the Wright Brothers, our nation's scientists have also made great advances in the "kill vehicle" that will intercept enemy missiles.

It is far more advanced than the interceptor that scientists analyzed and concluded would fail. It uses different mathematical algorithms that make it smarter and better able to differentiate between an enemy warhead and decoys. The interceptor is even made by a different defense manufacturer and has other new improvements.

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy challenged American scientists to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade. Working together, our nation developed that technology and did what many people once thought was impossible. If we work together again, I am convinced that our nation's scientists can put in place a protective system to keep American families safe from missile attack.

--REP. CURT WELDON (R-Pa.)

NO

President Clinton is expected to make a decision on deploying the National Missile Defense this fall. This system should not be deployed.

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