Is the present threat great enough to justify the costs of BMD?
•Proponents
–Defense needs to be number one priority of the United States government
–The nuclear states, specifically North Korea, Russia, China, Iran and Iraq, have made huge technological gains
•Most countries that have the technology can produce nuclear arms within a matter of months
•Russia and China have long-range ballistic missiles capable of reaching the United States
•North Korea, Iran and Iraq are within 10 years of having missiles that can reach United States
•Opponents
–The government is devoting too much money to ballistic missile defense
•10 billion dollars a year too much to spend
•Spending billions of dollars to defend against a threat that does not exist
–North Korea not as much of a military threat as a proliferation threat
• Country low on money- can’t even afford the fuel to keep their fighter pilots in the air
•It is profitable to sell nuclear secrets and materials
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