America's Provocative Weakness: the U.S. Policy of Vulnerability to Ballistic Missile Attack
Date of Graduation
Spring 2003
Degree
Master of Science in Defense and Strategic Studies
Department
Defense and Strategic Studies
Committee Chair
William Van Cleave
Abstract
Ballistic missile attack presents one of the most dangerous and troubling threats to the United States' national security today. For many nations that may wish to threaten the United States, ballistic missiles provide an affordable, readily accessible, and reliable delivery system for payloads ranging from conventional explosives to weapons of mass destruction. The most attractive element of ballistic missiles is the fact that the United States has no defenses against ballistic missile attack. This thesis offers an analysis of why, after over fifty years of work on ballistic missile defense, the United States is still without any deployed missile defenses today. It will examine the theories and policies that have led to America's continued vulnerability to ballistic missile attack, and continue to shape the public discourse about missile defense today. Finally, it will examine the United States' current missile defense policy, analyze the policy's potential strengths and weaknesses, and identify possible alternatives to the current administration's missile defense policy.
Subject Categories
Defense and Security Studies
Copyright
© Chrisopher A Olderog
Recommended Citation
Olderog, Chrisopher A., "America's Provocative Weakness: the U.S. Policy of Vulnerability to Ballistic Missile Attack" (2003). MSU Graduate Theses. 707.
https://bearworks.missouristate.edu/theses/707
Dissertation/Thesis
