Fiscal And Economic Implications Of Strategic Defenses

Estimates of the potential costs of alternative strategic defense systems should be an intrinsic element in decisions about whether the US should develop and deploy these systems, especially because of the ''opportunity costs' 'involved-what the nation would have to forgo in other military or civilian programs or in private resources because of higher taxes or larger deficits. In this book, the authors describe four notional strategic defense systems, each with a different ambitious objective, and then estimate their costs

Autorentext

Barry M Blechman (Author) , Victor A Utgoff (Author)

Inhalt

Introduction, Part 1 COSTS OF NOTIONAL STRATEGIC DEFENSE SYSTEMS 1. Notional Strategic Defense System Alpha: Defense of Nuclear Retaliatory Forces 2. Notional Strategic Defense System Beta: Defense of Nuclear Retaliatory Forces plus a Partial Population Defense Against Small Attacks 3. Notional Strategic Defense System Gamma: A Comprehensive Defense Using Space-Based Missile Interceptors 4. Notional Strategic Defense System Delta: A Comprehensive Defense Using Space-Based Laser Weapons 5. Costs of European Complements for a Comprehensive Strategic Defense System 6. Critical Assumptions and Sensitivities Part 2 STRATEGIC DEFENSE COSTS IN PERSPECTIVE 7. Strategic Defenses in the Context of Historic Spending Levels for Strategic Forces 8. Strategic Defenses in the Context of the Overall Defense Budget 9. Strategic Defenses in the Context of Total Federal Expenditures 10. Strategic Defenses in the Context of the Nation's Economy, Conclusion