Missile Defense? It Is The Wave Of The Future, No Less

U.S. missile defense test successful

Since the 1980s no developments in the international arena have been more important than missile defense.

It’s the so-called Strategic Defense Initiative and other missile developments (the deployment of cruise missiles and the Persching IIs in Europe) that:

- -- forced the Soviet leadership to abandon their expansionist strategy.

- - in effect brought down the Soviet Union, made possible the liberation of Eastern Europe from Soviet control and oppression.

Missile (and generally military) developments contributed most to transforming the world from the bipolar US-Soviet Union world to a uni-polar world in which the US and a more or less unified Europe are setting the tone, being most influential.

While Russian leaders (both Eltsin and Putin) set up meetings with the Chinese (communist dictators, that is) almost every year and proclaim intention to put to an end the uni-polar US-dominated world, they can actually do very little in practice. Supporting barbaric regimes such as North Korea and Iran, arming and helping them diplomatically is minor mischief.

It doesn’t change the big picture, the general equation.

Actually, since the Russians bet on Iran as their most important troublemaker, providing the Iranians with crucial nuclear assistance, they gave both the US and its allies in Europe a pretty good reason to proceed with their missile defense plans.

With an effective missile defense system, eventually deployed by the US, Russia’s chances of getting back as an important world player are going down the drain before getting any chance to materialize.

That’s why Moscow raises so much hue and cry against US missile defense plans, including those about installing components in Eastern Europe.

Are all these layers of missile defense effective? Strictly and scientifically speaking it is difficult to independently confirm. However, there are scientific reasons to assume that this is feasible. The panic that

US officials, however are quite categorical and willing to invest more and more billions into all these missile defense programs:

“Dr. Patricia Sanders, Executive Director of the US Missile Defense Agency, explained technical aspects of the missile defense system. She noted that 18 of the last 19 tests of the missile system have been successful.”

Militarily, Moscow'sr big problem comes from the fact that they don’t have an adequate answer in terms of weapon system:

1 Beyond ballistic missiles, the Russians don’t have systems capable of overcoming US/Western defenses:

-- They don’t have and are incapable of developing stealth bombers such as the B-2 Spirit stealth strategic bomber that would be able to penetrate without being detected by radars

- - they don’t have effective enough ways of delivering cruise missiles - their strategic bombers (such as Tu-160) are easy to detect and shoot down - they are detected and intercepted on a regular basis

-- They don’t have and are incapable of developing “boomer” submarines that are quiet enough to evade detection. The ports Russian submarines set sail from are monitored, the sea beds there are permanently inhabited by Norwegian, UK and US attack submarines tasked with tracking Russian boomers. All sorts of equipment to detect and identify any noise in these places is thought to be making company to the flora and fauna there.

Thus, every time a Russian boomer sets sail, Moscow has to assume that the probability is that it was detected, followed by a Western attack submarine and will be destroyed should it get the order to open its silos and launch its missiles.

2. On the other hand, the US ( the main enemy of Russia as Moscow use to designate the US privately) have all these penetrating capabilities. Thus, even if Russia gets one day capable of building missile defense (which they are not) it will still be pointless. They need not only to become capable of doing that, but catching up with and outpacing the US in the areas of submarine warfare, radar detection and stealth aircraft.

This is impossible for all practical purposes simply because Russia is still totalitarian, or quasi-totalitarian at best, and such a societal system never appreciate and tolerate talent, creativity and intelligence. Actually, people with such qualities usually quickly figure out the pathological nature of their society and choose to oppose it.

Hence, so many of Russian dissidents and opponent to the regime were scientists.