12/21/2023 0 Comments Strategic war in europe manualIf one nuclear power no longer had to fear nuclear attack, then there would be no fear of retaliation to stop it from making the first strike against another. Second, the very idea of guarding against nuclear attack struck at the heart of the theory of deterrence. Moreover, there was no way to test such a system without exposing the world to a very dangerous attack. Many critics of SDI wondered why the Reagan Administration was willing to spend so much money on a defense system that might never work, and expressed alarm that the funding for SDI came at the cost of social programs like education and health care. First, research and development for such a complicated project inevitably came with a very high price tag. So success in this area, supporters of SDI argued, could potentially also bring an end to the Cold War.Ĭriticism of the SDI initiative was widespread, however, and it took several forms beyond general skepticism about the feasibility of the technology. In terms of the Cold War conflict with the Soviets, a successful defense system would destroy the Soviet ability to make a first strike, which in turn would undermine the USSR's ability to pose a threat to the United States at all. defense research should be to eliminate the need for nuclear weapons, which he thought were fundamentally immoral. Privately, Reagan was quite adamant that the goal of U.S. In this way, it could also be portrayed as a peace initiative that warranted the sacrifice of funds from other programs. ![]() Reagan described the SDI system as a way to eliminate the threat of nuclear attack once the system was developed, its existence would benefit everyone. One was to silence domestic critics concerned about the level of defense spending. There were several reasons why the Reagan Administration was interested in pursuing the technology in the early 1980s. As a result, critics of the proposal nicknamed SDI "Star Wars" after the movie of the same name. The idea was dependent on futuristic technology, including space-based laser systems that had not yet been developed, although the idea had been portrayed as real in science fiction. ![]() The proposal involved many layers of technology that would enable the United States to identify and destroy automatically a large number of incoming ballistic missiles as they were launched, as they flew, and as they approached their targets. ![]() The heart of the SDI program was a plan to develop a space-based missile defense program that could protect the country from a large-scale nuclear attack. The research took a number of forms which collectively were called the Strategic Defense Initiative, or SDI. President Ronald Reagan announced his intention to embark upon groundbreaking research into a national defense system that could make nuclear weapons obsolete. On Main a televised address to the nation, U.S.
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