Is a missile shield necessary to protect us?
At present, only Russia has the technology to launch a missile attack on continental North America. Therefore, there is time to explore other approaches to the perceived emerging threat from North Korea, Iran, Iraq and other so-called rogues. The one country with nuclear capability that is most likely to develop an inter-continental missile capable of hitting the United States is China. Chinese officials have stated that they believe that the US missile defence program is hostile to China s interests. China may accelerate its own nuclear program in response. A ban on missile flight tests would be a far less expensive and more technically feasible way of preventing the development and use of inter-continental missiles. It could be implemented immediately, rather than waiting years in the hopes that the missile defence technology becomes reliable enough to be useful. There are many threats to human security (like poverty, AIDs, global warming and conventional wars) that are pressing righ
