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 riday's
successful missile-defense test didn't receive an enormous amount
of attention from the media, and what attention it did receive was
grudging. Reporters seem to like it so much better when this system,
meant to protect our cities from nuclear attack, fails. The short
New York Times story on the test contains a single quote:
"Our concern about these tests is that the American people
are getting unrealistic expectations," said Chris Madison of
the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation.
Instead of
appreciation for an incredible technological achievement —
one with enormous practical benefits in a dangerous world, by the
way — there's almost a sigh of disappointment when the Pentagon
shows it can "hit a bullet with a bullet," as the generals
like to say. About 140 miles above the Pacific Ocean, a missile
launched from the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Site (don't
you love that?) in the Marshall Islands hit a modified Minuteman
II launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
Friday's test
was the sixth one in which the Pentagon tried to hit a target, and
the fourth time it has succeeded. It was also the most complicated
test the emerging missile-defense system has confronted: The interceptor
had to distinguish between the mock warhead and three decoys (a
large balloon, a small red balloon, and a small white balloon).
In previous experiments, the interceptor has faced only a single
countermeasure.
The missile-defense
naysayers probably won't talk much about this latest success. They
may say that the test wasn't hard enough, or they may suggest it
was rigged. But mostly they'll hold out the perverse hope that the
next test flops.
In the meantime,
though, the Pentagon is showing that missile-defense technology
can work consistently and in a variety of environments. That's great
news for President Bush, who made missile defense a centerpiece
of his campaign.
The Pentagon's
Ballistic Missile Defense Organization now says it will have a rudimentary
missile-defense system ready a little more than two years from now.
It won't protect the United States against a massive attack from
China or Russia, but it will make it impossible for a country with
primitive missile technology, such
as North Korea, to engage in nuclear blackmail.
There's even
a target date for deployment: September 2004. Hmmm. The first time
an American president can tell his country that it's safe from a
nuclear power's sneak attack comes about two months before the next
presidential election. Sounds like a campaign event.
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