Ask the Experts: Dr. Steven Metz
The 33-Minutes blog will feature a new interview series called “Ask the Experts.” Our first guest is Dr. Steven Metz, Chairman of the Regional Strategy and Planning Department and Research Professor of National Security Affairs at the Strategic Studies Institute.
Dr. Metz graciously responded to our questions, and we believe his insights will help readers understand the importance of missile defense.
Welcome to the 33-Minutes blog, Dr. Metz. Tell us about your organization and what it does.
My organization is the U.S. Army War College Strategic Studies Institute. It is the U.S. Army’s institute for geostrategic and national security research and analysis. The Strategic Studies Institute conducts strategic research and analysis to support the U.S. Army War College curricula, provides direct analysis for Army and Department of Defense leadership, and serves as a bridge to the wider strategic community.
Why is missile defense important?
Missile defense is vital today because the traditional form of nonproliferation, which took shape during the Cold War, is no longer effective in saving the world from the disaster of nuclear warfare. It was predicated on the assumption that nations which might use nuclear weapons for aggressive or coercive purposes could not obtain them without technological and scientific help. So if they could be prevented from getting such help, they could not build nuclear weapons.
Today technological and scientific knowledge has proliferated to a degree which makes this assumption invalid. This means that the United States and the world community must focus on lowering the utility of nuclear weapons for nations which acquire them. This must be a two part process: extended deterrence, in which the United States makes clear that any first use of nuclear weapons will result in the destruction of the state that used them; and missile and air defense, which will make nuclear states question whether a nuclear strike would be effective. Even if not 100% foolproof, such a defense–whether national or regional–would contribute to security by causing a potential aggressor to doubt the effects of aggression.
Do you believe the Obama administration is moving the U.S. in the right direction?
In 2010 President Obama made deep cuts in the Missile Defense Budget. In my opinion, this was a mistake. But the Fiscal Year budget did include a $577 million increase over the previous year. This is still below the Bush administration’s funding levels and more is needed. Hopefully the increase between 2010 and 2011 represents the beginning of a trend.
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