Missile Madness
The Heritage Foundation's film about nuclear threats, "33 Minutes", is a modern day Reefer Madness, the 1930s film on the descent into insanity and criminality of a group of marijuana smokers. The film's title refers to the time it would take for an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), presumably launched by a rogue state such as North Korea or Iran, to reach the continental US. What if, the film asks, a terrorist group were to acquire an ICBM, arm it with a nuclear warhead, shoot it at the U.S. and explode it one kilometer over the center of the country?
At a recent screening of the film at the Center for American Progress, Joe Cirincione refuted the premise that technology alone can make the country safer. "I would like to have an effective ballistic missile defense system. I would like to have a cure for cancer. I would like to have a really good light beer. Some things are just beyond our technological capabilities." Cirincione said he supports efforts to bolster theater missile defense, but claims that a national missile defense system that would intercept ICBMs in space is not doable. For Cirincione, deterrence and negotiations are the key protective measures against long-range state-sponsored missile attacks.
International Relations and Security Network
