New weapons systems should always meet three requirements: They should be feasible, needed, and affordable. The proposed Prompt Global Strike program, which according to [6] U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has been "embraced by the new administration," does not meet any.
Using intercontinental ballistic missiles to hurl conventional warheads at caves is a truly bad idea. It would use technology that doesn't work for a capability the United States doesn't need at a cost it can't afford. Oh, and it could also start a nuclear war.
The plan is to build new weapons that can hit a target half a world away in under an hour. Defense contractors concerned about the shrinking market for long-range missiles began promoting this to George W. Bush's Defense Department, where it was rejected as unworkable. Now, as they take steps to reduce the U.S. reliance on conventional nuclear weapons, Obama defense officials are resurrecting it.
Links
[1] http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A//ploughshares.org/node/3417/take
[2] https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https%3A//ploughshares.org/node/3417/take&title=&source=Ploughshares
[3] http://www.twitter.com/share?text=Global%20Strikeout%20via%20%40plough_shares&url=https%3A//tinyurl.com/vz9rnnr
[4] https://ploughshares.org/forward?path=node/3417/take
[5] https://ploughshares.org/print/node/3417/take
[6] http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/23/world/europe/23strike.html?hp
[7] http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2010/04/23/world/23strikegfc.html?ref=europe
[8] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qybUFnY7Y8w
[9] http://www.ifri.org/?page=contribution-detail&id=5575&id_provenance=97
[10] http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/hangar+queen
[11] http://www.nature.com/news/2010/100303/full/464014b.html
[12] http://books.google.com/books?id=_-KXYhZkdJkC&pg=PA62&lpg=PA62&dq=MX+missile+%22total+program+cost%22&source=bl&ots=ET-62FQavE&sig=W5YpEDmexrey3uz70ZnclfC3ads&hl=en&ei=4wrSS-C2GYa0lQeTt7zsDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=8&ved=0CCUQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=MX%20missile%20%22total%20program%20cost%22&f=false
[13] http://feeds.wired.com/%7Er/WiredDangerRoom/%7E3/-4iA3odWNW4/
[14] http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/04/23/global_strikeout
[15] https://ploughshares.org/topic/conflict
[16] https://ploughshares.org/topic/conflict-regional-security
[17] https://ploughshares.org/topic/military-strategy
[18] https://ploughshares.org/topic/nuclear-weapons
[19] https://ploughshares.org/topic/united-states