Netanyahu's Colossal Nuclear Deterrence Blunder

Israel Handed Iran The Ultimate Penalty Kick

Max Can't Help It!
5 min readApr 23, 2024

I’ll come at that question from an argument I had with a friend today, who believes Israel can defend itself against long-range ballistic missiles (from Iran) using the Iron Dome.

Anti-ballistic missile defense entered the popular imagination in 1983 with President Ronald Reagan’s “Strategic Defense Initiative” (which everyone called Star Wars because experts rightfully ridiculed it).

At the time I thought it amusing because in a video they couldn’t even make it look realistic!

Regan said, “I am directing a comprehensive and intensive effort to define a long-term research and development program to begin to achieve our ultimate goal of eliminating the threat posed by strategic nuclear missiles.”

When actors forget they’re not in Hollywood

40 years later, can we shoot down ballistic missiles?

At the time, critics pointed out that missile defense technology could never be trusted to shoot down every missile. If we trusted it we might believe we could strike first. Being wrong would be a fatal mistake!

--

--

Max Can't Help It!
Max Can't Help It!

Written by Max Can't Help It!

Trying to connect what hasn't been connected.

Responses (21)