SDI or Star Wars is the only way to protect the U.S. from ICBM attacks. We have the technology. We should use it. Before Russia and China decide to do this too.

Trump must realize Reagan's vision for Star Wars defense - and soon

What would Ronald Reagan say if he were alive today and saw Hawaii living in fear, panicked by the false alarm of a nuclear missile strike from North Korea. Surely, President Reagan would ask: "Why did you abandon my Strategic Defense Initiative? Prospective space-based defenses won the Cold War, and if deployed would have rendered nuclear missiles obsolete.

From article, (“There was one vital factor in the ending of the Cold War. It was Ronald Reagan’s decision to go ahead with the Strategic Defense Initiative,” Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher once said.

“Our leadership was convinced that the great technical potential of the U.S. had scored again,” said Soviet Ambassador to the U.S. Anatoly Dobrynin. “Behind all this [SDI program] lies the clear calculation that the USSR will exhaust its material resources, and therefore will finally be forced to surrender,” added USSR Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko. Another foreign minister, Alexander Bessmertnykh, agreed: “[Reagan’s SDI speech] made us realize we were in a very dangerous place. [SDI] accelerated the decline of the Soviet Union.”

Senior Russian foreign policy analyst Genrikh Trofimenko said, in retrospect, “Ninety-nine percent of Russian people believe that you won the Cold War because of your President’s insistence on SDI.”

 SDI technology was proven and ready to deploy. But President Clinton opposed “Star Wars” ideologically. Protecting America risked mutually-assured destruction and “strategic stability.” So Clinton’s Secretary of Defense, Les Aspin, boasted he “took the stars out of Star Wars” canceling SDI.

What remains is the technologically truncated National Missile Defense that cannot defend allies and has Hawaii hiding in bomb-shelters.

We can win the New Cold War by resurrecting SDI and deploying space-based missile defenses. We are still technologically superior to all potential adversaries and can leverage that superiority to protect America from growing nuclear missile threats.

Russia, China, and North Korea are investing billions in nuclear missiles aimed at the United States. It would serve them right — and be the best guarantor of world peace — to checkmate their investment in offensive nuclear missiles with space-based defenses.

Space-based defenses offer revolutionary advantages over existing National Missile Defenses (NMD), that cannot protect U.S. allies or bases overseas, might be hard-pressed to defend the U.S. mainland against increasingly sophisticated North Korean threats, and cannot defend the U.S. from large-scale nuclear missile threats from Russia or China.

Space-based defenses potentially can do all the above.

SDI-type defenses can intercept missiles during all phases of flight: boost-phase, mid-course, and terminal-phase. Such a system could shield U.S. allies and troops overseas; much better protect Hawaii, Alaska, and distant U.S. territories; and could not as easily be attacked, overwhelmed, or fooled with decoys as NMD.

These advantageous characteristics of space-based defenses are all the more important because of the existential threat from nuclear electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack. Even a single warhead successfully delivered against allies overseas or against the United States could black out an entire nation and kill millions.)

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Me, "SDI or Star Wars is the only way to protect the U.S. from ICBM attacks. We have the technology. This article states it. We should use it. Especially, with a rogue state like North Korea threatening the U.S. and, NMD not sure if it can shoot a North Korean ICBM down. Also, what happens if Iran, or some other rogue state develops an ICBM? We have put enormous economic pressures on North Korea and they still have developed ICBMs. We need some kind of protection. Also, Russia and China may decide to field their own SDI systems too. Do we want to be left behind?

The Russians already have a submarine drone that can place a nuclear device close to the shores of the U.S. to create a tidal wave affecting millions. While SDI won't stop this, each new technology for offense leaves an opening for a deterrent. By building out SDI we protect the U.S. and allies from ICBM launches. 

Russia would not be pleased but would have the underwater nuclear drone as a deterrent. 

China would not care because it has the technology to blow up satellites in space. 

So, for the U.S. it is an opportune moment to get SDI built out. Then, or concurrently, we try to create a defense against the Russian and Chinese threat. At some point both sides will realize there are so many deterrents, that leaving each other alone, militarily, is the only option. This idea is not as sexy as ICBM limiting treaties, or economic sanctions, and it will cost some money. But for the defense departments $640+ billion budget I am sure they would love the chance to get SDI operational. Remember, Russia is reneging on certain arms control agreements. So arms control by itself can never be fully trusted. And, China wants to field a laser system that could get rid of orbital debris. What is the possibility of them turning it on our satellites?
 Optimistically, we never have to use this system. Maybe, we learn a great deal about lasers and propulsion, enhanced solar power and energy storage, automatic refueling, aiming and deflecting technologies that the private sector can use. But better to have it, then to be a slave to a rogue state."