Defending America

Arms control and missile defense are once again at the forefront of the American national security agenda. Not surprisingly, the debate has broken down along well-worn lines. Arms control advocates dismiss the idea of missile defense as a dangerous and costly folly. Missile defense advocates argue that the U.S. should move aggressively to defend itself against missile attack. With clear and lively prose free of partisan rhetoric, Defending America provides reliable, factual analysis of the missile defense debate. Written for a general audience, it assesses the current and likely future missile threat to the United States, examines relevant technologies, and suggests how America’s friends and foes would react to a decision to build a national missile defense. Lindsay and O’Hanlon reject calls for large-scale systems as well as proposals to do nothing, instead arguing for a limited national missile defense.

“The authors provide a sound critique of the standard positions and hyperboles of both advocates and opponents, as well as an accessible primer on the types, advantages, and limitations of various systems and architectures…. Defending America provides as good a ‘few years out’ unclassified guide as you’re likely to find.” – The Washington Times “Even those readers who have made up their minds should find this book a useful compendium of information and analysis on an old topic.” – Foreign Affairs