OPINION:
“Toward a cost-effective ballistic missile defense” (Web, Sept. 19) is important and factually accurate, but sadly is unlikely to change U.S. policy. As the director general for U.K. cooperation with the SDI program, I worked closely with the first three directors of the American program: James Abrahamson, George Monahan and Henry Cooper. We all agreed that the only effective ABM defense would have to be space-based.
In my book “Faith in G.O.D.S: Stability in the Nuclear Age,” published in 1991, I outlined the reasons that a Global Orbiting Defense System was the only effective way of meeting the objectives of effective missile defense. The Senate Armed Services Committee rejected the concept then and have refused to reconsider it since.
Instead, the SDI organization morphed into BMDO and then MDA, concentrating on ground- and sea-based defensive systems that offer only partial effectiveness against limited numbers of attacking missiles.
If President Trump were less harassed by “fake news” he might have the time to review the BMD situation. Sadly, as things now stand we will continue to ignore evidence that has been obvious for close to three decades, and remain vulnerable to nuclear attacks.
STANLEY ORMAN
Rockville
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