By pursuing the development of a National Missile Defense and breaking the ABM Treaty, the United States might cause a new nuclear arms race, which we have been working so hard to avoid. The United States developing new NMD technologies to enhance nuclear capabilities makes it even less appealing for other countries, such as Russia or China, to follow policies of nuclear disarmament. The fear then is that they will respond by building up their own NMD systems (CNN.com/world, July 16th, 2001). After all, “…states capable of deploying intercontinental-range missiles armed with weapons of mass destruction (WMD) would also be able to deploy countermeasures that would defeat the system” (Glaser and Fetter, pp. 285). The ballistic capabilities of other nations are growing anyway, especially with the contributions of Russia and China, and they do not need the added incentive of an U.S. NMD system, to encourage further development ( NewsMax.com, September 10th, 2001).

While a National Missile Defense system is an important issue to consider, it is not something that the United States should be focusing their efforts on right now. There are potential threats that might require the use of a Nuclear Missile Defense system, but they are not worth disregarding the ABM Treaty and enduring the consequences, which that might entail. At the same time it is difficult to justify development, especially at such high costs and limited capability, and with such a roughly defined threat. Rather the United States should prepare to defend ourselves from other more prevalent terrorist tactics. These include “…truck bombs, explosives on aircraft, terrorist attacks using weapons of mass destruction, cruise-missile strikes from offshore platforms, and threats to critical national infrastructure, including cyberwar against crucial computer systems”(O’Hanlon, pp. 116). We are not likely to be attacked by a rogue state, and would do more for our national security by fighting terrorism and destroying nuclear weapons in the former Soviet Union, as well as those weapons which have left the former Soviet Union by various means. With the heightened risk of terrorist attacks today it is obvious where U.S. focus should lie. The issue of homeland security is important, but the threat of a nuclear attack is not nearly as great as the threat of an unconventional terrorist attack We need to prepare ourselves for unconventional warfare so that another attack as devastating as the one on the World Trade Center in New York on September 11th, 2001, cannot happen again.

The creation of a NMD system would not only break the ABM Treaty and possibly bring back the tensions of the Cold War, but it would also prove to be extremely expensive and probably inefficient. It is difficult to justify investment in such a system when research and development costs so much, and yet yields such limited results. The latest estimate prepared by the Congressional Budget Office is that the Bush administration’s “layered” missile defense, capable of countering threat missiles in all phases of their flight, would cost between $158 billion and $238 billion (armscontrolcenter.org).

The mission of the National Missile Defense system is to defend all fifty United States against a limited strike of Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs). “The NMD system is an integrated collection of subsystems, referred to as ‘Elements,’ that perform dedicated functions during and ICBM engagement. The System will include a Battle Management, Command, Control, and Communications (BMC3) element, four types of long-range sensors, the Defense Support Program and Space Based Infrared System satellites, Upgraded Early Warning Radar (UEWR), and a Ground Based X Band Radar (XBR) and arsenal of Ground Based Interceptors (GBI)” (DOT&E FY'99 Annual Report, 2000). Although creating some form of missile defense might make our nation safer in the event of a nuclear attack, it would al

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