| |
The development of defenses against longer-range missiles is highly controversial.
The main reason is that if the Unites States develops defenses of this kind,
it could upset the nuclear balance between the United States and Russia
and between the United States and China. Today,
each of these countries knows that it could survive a U.S. nuclear first strike
and still be able to retaliate against the United States with its own nuclear-armed
missiles, and that the United States could do the same. The existence of this
"second-strike capability" provides security to all three countries. It allows
each to feel confident that it will not be attacked because it has the ability
to retaliate and cause unacceptable damage to the attacker. If one country
had missile defenses, however, it might be able to strike
first and then block a retaliatory strike. This capability, even if it
was never used, could allow the possessor to intimidate other major nuclear
countries. Russia may also be concerned that a U.S. BMD system may prompt
China to expand its own strategic nuclear force, making China more of a threat
to Russia.
|
|
|
