When President Ronald Reagan introduced his Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) in 1983, opponents and critics in Congress sarcastically referred to the program as “Star Wars.” Such degrading rhetoric was meant to conjure up notions of Dearth Vader and Han Solo, suggesting somehow that Reagan’s vision was as far-fetched as Luke Skywalker trying to destroy the Death Star with one well-placed shot.
All joking aside, comparisons between the Soviet Union and the “Dark Side” were actually quite astute. As if facing-off with “light-sabers,” Reagan described the mutual defense posture of the U.S. and Soviet Union as two westerners standing in a saloon aiming their guns at each other’s head — permanently. Reagan’s visionary solution was to invent a defensive weapon that could intercept nuclear weapons and destroy them as they emerged from their silos. He named this vision SDI.
In order to work toward his goal, Reagan announced that he was directing a comprehensive and intensive effort to define long-term R&D to achieve his goal. Without his long-term foresight, the “Brilliant Pebbles” program that was halted by the Clinton Administration in 1993 would never have materialized. In short, it is long-term efforts that enable short-term progress, a lesson that our leaders today should wisely heed.
Twenty-seven years after Reagan proposed that the U.S. focus on strategic defense rather than offense, the number of countries with ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons has increased.
On October 10, 2006, former Secretary of State George Shultz and former Ambassadors Rozanne Ridgeway and Max Kampelman discussed the Strategic Defense Initiative, also known as “Star Wars,” at the Hoover Institution.
In 1983, President Ronald Reagan proposed that the U.S. focus on strategic defense rather than offense. From the Strategic Defense Initiative came the Missile Defense Agency.
Panelists discussed Reagan’s ideas, focusing on countries like North Korea, India, and Iran. Watch and listen below:
President Ronald Reagan got the ball rolling on the development of the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) with his Strategic Defense Initiative in 1983. Twenty-five years after he proposed that the U.S. focus on strategic defense rather than offense, the number of countries with ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons has increased.
Thirty-six years ago (1972), nine countries had ballistic missile capability, including China, Germany, Russia, and the US. In 2007, over 20 countries had this capability, including India, Iran, Pakistan, and Turkey.
In 1972, only six countries could be described as nuclear states: China, France, Israel, Russia, the UK, and the US. In 2007, three countries were added to the list: India, North Korea, Pakistan.
Some of these countries are allies; others are not. It’s up the MDA to develop missile defense technology and to train a workforce committed to protecting us from foreign enemies.
President Ronald Reagan got the ball rolling on the development of the