"Star Wars" #1 of 5 - Introduction (2000)

'Star Wars': New Hope or Phantom Menace?
Part 1 of 5 - Introduction

America's Defense Monitor Show #1330
WHUT-TV, Washington, DC
Original Air Date: April 2, 2000
total run time: 28 minutes

SYNOPSIS:
For 40 years, American scientists have tried - and failed - to build a system to protect the U.S. from long-range missile attack. In October 1999, the successful test of a missile interceptor breathed new life into Ronald Reagan's dream of a national shield against enemy missiles. But will building "Star Wars" make us any safer?

Featured Experts:

Tom Collina
Union of Concerned Scientists

Bruce Gagnon
Global Network Against Nuclear Power & Weapons in Space

Maj. Gen. Milnor Roberts
High Frontier

Joseph Cirincione
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

William Schneider
Rumsfeld Commission

George Tenet
Director, Central Intelligence Agency

And remarks by:
U.S. Senator Thad Cochran
U.S. Senator James Inhofe
President Ronald Reagan

Written, edited, and produced by Jon Lottman for the Center for Defense Information.

Program content © 2000, CDI, inc.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Ronald
• Reagan
• outer
• space
• weapons
• war
• laser
• missile
• defense
• military
• star
• wars
• nuclear
• ICBM
• USA
• russia
• china
• ASAT

[TSM9356]

this destroys the principle of MAD, on which peace has existed since the cold war.

[Gestapo1940]

@TSM9356 I agree. If this system implemented, it would disrupt the balance of power throughout the world and could possibly lead to a large scale confrontation.

[EricKZhang]

My country completely annihilated yours.. u MAD?

[bestamerica]

'

america is the best make movie star wars,,,

ussr russia do not know how and stupid country,,,

american former president ron reagan was copy idea from the movie star wars as SDI,,,

ussr russia was afraid of america make SDI program can shot, hit, destroy suck waste ussr russia missiles / rockets

[StiviGun1]

@gatler05 Well, the F-35 cost more than 300 billion dollars and it doesn't even offer 1% of the advantages this system offers. So 20 billion it's well worth it.

[StiviGun1]

This guy contradicts himself. If there was no technology for developing ABMs, they why did they sign an agreement on not develop such systems. Technology existed, it's just that the US politicians were too scared sissies to approve their development. These systems could've been built in secret from the Russians even from the early '60s, right after the Cuban missile crisis. This would've been the natural reaction 2 that crisis, not slowing down the IVBM & nuclear weapons development.

[gatler05]

This is cool, but 20 billion dollars thats alot. :P

[djsal510]

We have an economic war which we have to take care of first in US. Besides we can't afford fancy toys anymore especially when US has major financial crisis.

[ukrainesuperpower87]

US "Star wars" program was waste of money

Anyway US did not developed working space-based laser. Soviet did it.

[1tonykirk]

No such animal... bio weapons are the ultimate threat,

economic war the ultimate igniter... see:

"Timeline of the Rothschilds", by DB Smith

[SymAmineC8H11N]

haha... i love it how reagan used the word "impotent" to describe consequential futility of the soviet missles. to bad this was the top search result for THAD defense missles...