Steven Holt: “Polling data shows that the public does not feel well informed about what could be the most expensive defense ever…”

“Polling data shows that the public does not feel well informed about what could be the most expensive defense ever deployed and one that has serious flaws. The President is trying to sell his magical mystery shield to the allies today. As the gentleman's cartoon shows, it is a used car with no guarantee. The problem with the missile defense, quite simply, is it would be costly to deploy, easily circumvented, and it would be strategically destabilizing. In other words, it would actually detract from our national and international security. One does not need to read a lot of history to be reminded of the-- Maginot line, the so-called impenetrable wall that has become the symbol of misguided defense policy. The proposed missile defense shield probably would not work as designed and wishing will not overcome the physics. It could be confused with decoys as the gentleman from Massachusetts mentioned a moment ago. I am a physicist by background, but one does not need advanced physics to understand that a Nation that would be capable of building an intercontinental ballistic missile, that could deliver a weapon of mass destruction could also deploy decoys by the hundreds, by the thousands. In the vacuum of space, a balloon travels just as well as a rocket.”