During the Cold War, President Reagan talked a lot about creating a global strategic defense
system that would render ballistic missiles “impotent and obsolete”.
It was all part of his “Star Wars” program.
He saw it as a real chance for world peace, but pretty much everyone else saw it as a
dream that was too good to be true.
But now with Israel and their Iron Dome defense system shooting down missiles at a shockingly
consistent rate, how close are we to realizing that dream?
Has the Iron Dome rendered ballistic missiles “Impotent and Obsolete”?
Will this really get us closer to world peace?
If you follow the Israeli Palestinian conflict you know that the answer to that last question
is probably no, but you’re also likely aware of how ineffective the Iron Dome has rendered
Hamas’s missiles.
It shot down about 87% of its targets in this most recent conflict.
A number that seems even more impressive when you consider that nearly 3,000 missiles were
lobbed at Israel during the time period, which is by no means a small sample size.
The Iron Dome works by identifying the threat, launching an interceptor missile, guiding
it to the threat and exploding the interceptor near enough to the threat to eliminate it.
It’s a series of easily transportable units, with a firing control radar and portable missile
launcher.
Because of its size and comparably low cost it can be moved quickly and used often.
It is by far the best strategic defense system for eliminating short range targets.
But the system does have its critics.
They argue that the Iron Dome works well against the missiles it’s stopping now, but it may
not work as well against more technically advanced or longer range missiles, because
they tend to fly at higher altitudes.
It also may not work as efficiently as the Israeli government is reporting.
There are some who question Israel’s numbers, which come directly from the Israeli military,
who have an understandable interest in the program’s success.
Plus, some argue that the Iron Dome actually makes conflicts in the area worse, not better.
They claim that without the fear of retaliation from neighboring regions and political militant
factions within Palestine itself, Israel has no real need to approach a peaceful end to
this or any other conflict.
There is concern that this immunity makes the need for peace less urgent.
This is obviously a sensitive topic, so please be respectful in the comments.
If you’d like to know more about how this whole conflict started and why Israel wanted
a strategic defense system in the first place, please click now.
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