Nicknamed “Star Wars” by its critics, SDI was first presented by President Reagan in 1983 as a system to defend against a nuclear missile attack. Influenced by Edward Teller, a scientist involved in the development of the hydrogen bomb and a model for the warcrazed advisor in Dr Strangelove (1964), Reagan announced the missile system on national television without full discussion with his military advisors. Development of such a defense system was unrealistic, though the multi-billion dollar expenditures that were forthcoming from Congress produced some scientific advances. The goal was impractical because the defense system was in-tended to keep intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) from striking the United States by intercepting them once they left the Earth’s atmosphere. Since the Soviet Union was developing new cruise missiles, which remained in the atmosphere, the system could never be a foolproof defense.

Recent developments have renewed the popularity of SDI: the much exaggerated success of the Patriot Missile during the Gulf War, which suggested that anti-missile systems might work (though striking a nuclear missile within the Earth’s atmosphere might be as disastrous as letting it strike its target); and the growing fear that the end of the Cold War may have made the world’s nuclear arsenals less secure. The fact that a terrorist organization, which might be a possible source of a nuclear incident, would be unlikely to attach a nuclear device to an ICBM has not been factored into the budgetary equation. Hence, it emerged anew as an initiative of the Clinton administration and an issue in the 2000 election.