The Necessity of Improved Missile Defense Systems in the United States of America

Jack Schlossberg
Intern Mentor G/T P5
Bagley
1/3/2017
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You start your day the same way you do every day. You wake up, Pry yourself out of

bed, and venture to the shower, still in a barely cognitive, half dream-walking trance. The rush of

cold water from the showerhead chills you into consciousness, at which point you can dry off get

dressed and wander to the kitchen for breakfast. Start the coffee, grab the first item in the fridge,

flip on the television and sit down to your first meal of the day. Good Morning America gets you

up to speed on all of the most riveting and life altering news reports, like what Kim Kardashian

ate for dinner the night before. It is by no means quality television, but you savor every moment

of calm you can get before you have to take your children to wake your children and be on your

way to work. As you sit idly learning who wore the best and worst outfits to last week’s

Grammy’s, the wretched alarm of what sounds like an amber alert interrupts your program and

pierces deep into your eardrums. A news flash appears with an automated voice echoing “THIS

IS NOT A DRILL, THIS IS NOT A DRILL. A NUCLEAR WEAPONS HAS BEEN

LAUNCHED AGAINST THE U.S. GET TO THE NEAREST BUNKER OR SECURE

LOCATION. ESTIMATED TIME OF ARRIVAL 15 MINUTES”. Your heart drops and panic

creeps through your body, paralyzed and unable to comprehend what you had just heard. When

you finally come around to understand the consequences of what is coming, you wake your

children and bring them into the basement, trying to facade that everything is as usual. Every

minute feels like an hour as the clock slowly ticks by. Surely the U.S. Military will be able to

stop this attack and all will be fine, you think to yourself. But it doesn’t.

This narrative may seem to many as no more than fiction; however, it is not nearly as

farfetched as it may sound. By simply flipping on CNN for an hour, the severity of missile

threats to the U.S. is apparent. Luckily, we have not encountered a missile attack on the U.S.

mainland to date, but if we were to we would not be fully equipped to handle it. In 1962, the U.S.
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came closer than ever to one of these catastrophic attacks in a stand-off with Soviets off the coast

of Cuba known as the Cuban Missile Crisis. We narrowly avoided bombardment of 36 nuclear

warheads thanks to last minute diplomacy. Had this diplomacy failed, it has been estimated that

over 500 million civilians would have been exterminated (Knightly, “The Cuban Missile Crisis

1962: The World at Death's Door.”). With the help of modern technology, these treats can now

come from the opposite side of the globe, as the world faces its next great nuclear threat,

communist North Korea. At the same time technology has advanced the range of these weapons

of mass destruction, it has also increased their ability to destroy. This brings the necessity to

improve technology to defend against these weapons, but the U.S. seems to be falling behind in

this pursuit. Nuclear attack is the most pressing security threat to modern America, and The

United States is currently not equipped to consistently defend against missile threats. A nuclear

attack to the homeland would be devastating, and potentially create conditions for a global

extinction level event. The United States must improve its missile defense systems to

sufficiently protect not only its own interests, but also the interests of the world as a whole.

One of the most important thing for the government to consider when deciding whether

or not to invest the money in improving its missile defense systems is the likelihood of having to

use it. North Korea’s rapid nuclear armament and outspoken dissent of the U.S. alone are enough

to be considered a legitimate threat to the homeland. On top of this, U.S. sanctions on the

communist nation, and regular name calling and bickering between Kim Jong-Un and President

Trump via Twitter over who has the larger nuclear button may be enough to tip an unstable

communist dictator over the edge. The North Korean leader is unpredictable, being called the

“biggest threat to the humankind right now” by the U.S. ambassador to China (Ellyatt, Holly, et

al.), China being another key nation in the struggle with North Korea. This is not to be taken
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lightly when considering this man has the ability to erase New York City with no more than the

push of a button. In his annual address, Kim Jong-Un stated, "The entire United States is within

range of our nuclear weapons, a nuclear button is always on my desk. This is reality, not a

threat," (Harrison, Bruce, et al.). Despite his disclaimer, this sounds like hardly anything less than a

threat. For the increasingly unstable relationship with North Korea, the U.S. should be alarmed

enough to take precautionary action to protect its citizens. Nuclear attack is the most dangerous

threat to America, and adequate missile defense systems must be readily available in the event

the threat becomes a reality.

The current missile defense system in The United States is out of date and would be

ineffective against a large scale attack. In a recent report by the Union of Concerned Scientists, it

was asserted that, The U.S. missile defense systems are, “simply unable to protect the U.S.

public and will remain ineffective unless Congress exerts rigorous oversight.” (William, “U.S.

Missile Defense System Is 'Simply Unable to Protect the Public,' Report Says”). The United States

currently has 30 missile interceptors across the country, less than that of Israel, a country which

has roughly 0.28% the landmass of the U.S.. On top of the lack of quantity, there also seems to

be a deficiency of quality. Since 2010, the U.S. Military has tested our systems numerous times

with an average success rate of about 40% (Starr, Brown, “US Successfully 'Intercepts and Destroys'

Target in Missile Test.”). That being said, if North Korea or any foreign enemy were to flip the

switch at any given moment and send missiles our way, more likely than not it would touchdown

at the expense of civilian lives. With international tensions rising, the necessity to protect U.S.

citizens cannot be emphasized enough. The proper technology to defend such attacks is out there

and is attainable. Notably, Israel has developed and implemented the world most effective

missile interception system known as the Iron Dome. Due to the high volume of missile threats
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to Israeli soil from Hamas militants, Israel saw the need for vastly improved defense systems. In

fact, The United States jointly funded the creation of the Iron Dome in 2007 in order to protect

Israeli interests. The U.S. has the access to this technology; however, has not invested the money

to implement it themselves. The system is responsible for a 90% success rate, while still not

perfect, it is vastly more effective than the 40% seen by The United States, and it has drastically

changed the day-to-day lives of Israeli citizens and their sense of security (“Israel Defense

Forces.”). This is attainable within the government's defense budget. Hopefully, the U.S. will

realize the importance of making improvements before the first missile has landed. U.S. missile

defense is not sufficient and must be improved for the safety of its citizens.

It has been shown that the threat of attack is serious, and the ability to defend it is

minimal, but what should be expected if a nuclear warhead did strike the U.S. It is most likely

that one of these attacks would be aimed at a highly populous region such as a city. Take New

York City for example. A 2004 article published by the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists highlights

what would happen immediately following a nuclear bomb being dropped on New York. It is

stated that within a few milliseconds the temperature at the epicenter would be roughly 200

million degrees Fahrenheit. One second later the fireball would be 1 mile in diameter with a

consistent temperature of 16,000 degrees Fahrenheit. The report went on to quote, “At the

Empire State Building, Grand Central Station, the Chrysler Building, and St. Patrick's Cathedral,

about one half to three quarters of a mile from ground zero, light from the fireball would melt

asphalt in the streets, burn paint off walls, and melt metal surfaces within a half second of the

detonation...Those who tried to escape through the streets would have been incinerated by the

hurricane-force winds filled with firebrands and flames. Even those able to find shelter in the

lower-level sub-basements of massive buildings would likely suffocate from fire-generated gases
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or be cooked alive as their shelters heated to oven-like conditions.” In total, it would create so

much energy that 100 square miles would be engulfed in flame, on a windy day, there would be

nothing to stop the fires from spreading (Thomas-Noone, “Revealed: The Devastating Aftermath of

a Nuclear Attack on Manhattan.”). The 2016 census estimated the population of NYC at roughly 8.5

million, there would be little to no survivors. This is the devastation that could occur in any U.S.

city. Not to mention that should one missile touchdown, the U.S. would strike back resulting in

all our nuclear warfare with the potential to destroy the entire planet. But this could be avoided.

The U.S. must improve missile interception systems to protect its people and continue working

diplomatically toward nuclear disarmament to ensure a safe future.

In conclusion, the cost in human life of not increasing missile defense far outweighs any

monetary cost to develop it. Nuclear war is a serious threat to the U.S. and cannot be taken

lightly. The U.S. is currently unprepared to defend itself against most threat of this sort with an

unimpressive 40% success rate. The technology to adequately defend its borders is out there and

is accessible by the U.S. Most importantly, should the improvements be cast aside until it is too

late, the cost could be the termination of the world as we know it. The U.S. must budget for the

vast improvement of its missile defense systems. All are urged to write their Senators and

express interest in investing U.S. tax dollars toward this objective.

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Works Cited
Ellyatt, Holly, et al. “North Korea the 'Biggest Threat to Humankind' Right Now, Top US Diplomat
Says.” CNBC, CNBC, 6 Dec. 2017. Web.

Harrison, Bruce, et al. “Kim Jong Un Highlights His 'Nuclear Button,' Offers Olympic Talks.”
NBCNews.com, News Group, 2 Jan. 2018. Web.

“Israel Defense Forces.” Iron Dome Missile Defense System, Jewish Virtual Library.Web.

Knightly, Philip, and Peter Pringle. “The Cuban Missile Crisis 1962: The World at Death's Door.”
The Independent, Independent Digital News and Media, 4 Oct. 1992.

Starr, Barbara, and Ryan Browne. “US Successfully 'Intercepts and Destroys' Target in Missile
Test.” CNN, Cable News Network, 31 May 2017.Web.

Thomas-Noone, Brendan, et al. “Revealed: The Devastating Aftermath of a Nuclear Attack on

Manhattan.” The National Interest, The Center for the National Interest, 26 Mar.
2015.

Willman, David. “U.S. Missile Defense System Is 'Simply Unable to Protect the Public,' Report
Says.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times. Web.