Executive Director John Tierney and Senior Science Fellow Philip Coyle wrote an op-ed for Defense One explaining why the proposed space-based missile defense system is a bad idea. In March 1983, President Ronald Reagan delivered an Oval Office speech to announce his Strategic Defense Initiative — or as it was dubbed by critics, “Star Wars.” […]
Trump obliterates his dishonesty record: 132 false claims last week, 280 for July
Senior Science Fellow Philip Coyle spoke with the Toronto Star to fact-check President Trump’s claims about missile defense. Claim: “We make the greatest missiles. We have the anti-missile missiles that shoot down missiles many, many miles away in the sky, like a needle in a haystack. They shoot them down, hard to believe. And we’re […]
Nonproliferation Expert Tierney Calls Trump Nuclear Push ‘Dangerous and Unnecessary’
Executive Director John Tierney spoke with The Diplomat about global arms control and non-proliferation issues. The Diplomat: From observation, does adding or enhancing nuclear capabilities actually deter ‘bad behavior’ by countries? Tierney: No. It just encourages more arms racing. The Diplomat: Let’s talk about technicalities. Can you describe what the push to develop smaller nukes is yielding in […]
Russia Probably Can’t Shoot Down U.S. Missiles Over Syria
Senior Science Fellow Philip Coyle spoke with the DailyBeast about his lack of confidence in U.S. missile defense. Overall, air defenses are only 30-percent effective, Philip Coyle, formerly the Pentagon’s top weapons-tester, told The Daily Beast. Five out of seven American-made Patriot missiles apparently missed or malfunctioned when Saudi forces tried to intercept a barrage of high-flying […]
Trump’s North Korea Dilemma: Asking For Billions For Missile Defense Without Freaking People Out
Senior Science Fellow Philip Coyle spoke to BuzzFeed News about the balance President Trump is forced to find between reassurance and asking for funding. “This is really just throwing good money after bad because we already know that they are not effective,” Philip Coyle, a former assistant secretary of defense who headed the Pentagon’s test […]