The Pentagon should halt investments in boost-phase missile defense systems and implement a new "evolutionary approach" to the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense system, according to a new report issued by the National Academy of Sciences. The report, called for by Congress in 2008, states that boost-phase missile defense "is not practical or cost effective under real-world conditions for the foreseeable future" because intercept must take place before a threat booster reaches a threatening velocity. The authors stress that their study is...
