Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation

Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation

  • Policy Issues
    • Fact Sheets
    • Countries
    • Nuclear Weapons
    • Non-Proliferation
    • Nuclear Security
    • Biological & Chemical Weapons
    • Defense Spending
    • Missile Defense
    • No First Use
  • Nukes of Hazard
    • Podcast
    • Blog
      • Next Up In Arms Control
    • Videos
  • Join Us
  • Press
  • About
    • Staff
    • Boards & Experts
    • Jobs & Internships
    • Financials and Annual Reports
    • Contact Us
  • Donate
  • Search
You are here: Home / Front and Center / WV Candidate Channels Dr. Evil

October 13, 2010

WV Candidate Channels Dr. Evil

West Virginia’s Republican nominee for Senate, John Raese, recommended Tuesday that the US put 1,000 lasers into space.

We shall call it the “Alan Parsons Project”…

But seriously – according to Raese, “We are sitting with the only technology in the world that works and it’s laser technology. We need 1,000 laser systems put in the sky and we need it right now. That is [of] paramount importance.”

The only logical explanation anyone can come up with for Raese’s claim is that he could be talking about a program that is decades from development and a few major treaties down the road… and we all know how easy those are to get passed, right?

Riki Ellison, the chairman of the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance, said that Raese appeared to be referring to DPALs (diode pumped alkali lasers), which have shown great promise in the field of missile defense but – at least at current funding levels for the development of such programs – could take two decades to develop. He said that the development of DPAL technology would be accelerated by Raese’s proposed budget infusion (the Obama administration recently reduced funding for the Missile Defense Agency). But, he added, deploying that technology in space would require the negotiation of a treaty among world powers.

“That’s a significant policy challenge,” Ellison said.

The idea of space based missile defense is nothing new, but Raese’s understanding of the subject seems to be a little lacking – particularly his very specific pronouncement that the program he speaks of would cost only $20 billion.  With this project so  far from completion, nobody can know what price tag a system like DPALs could eventually rack up.

Speaking of DPALs, George Herbert Walker Bush promulgated a close relative of this program called GPALS, or Global Protection Against Limited Strikes. It never was deployed.

Maybe Raese is confused with Bush the father’s 1,000 points of light program (don’t ask).

Posted in: Front and Center, Nukes of Hazard blog

Tweets by Nukes of Hazard

Recent Posts

  • Reflecting on the past, present, and future of women in nuclear security March 30, 2023
  • Next Up – It’s Your Turn  March 27, 2023
  • Germany walks fine line on nuclear weapons March 24, 2023
  • Russia-Ukraine War Threatens to Trigger New Nuclear Arms Race March 22, 2023
  • A Major Clue to COVID’s Origins Is Just Out of Reach March 21, 2023
Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation

820 1st Street NE, Suite LL-180
Washington, D.C. 20002
Phone: 202.546.0795

Issues

  • Fact Sheets
  • Countries
  • Nuclear Weapons
  • Non-Proliferation
  • Nuclear Security
  • Defense Spending
  • Biological and Chemical Weapons
  • Missile Defense
  • No First Use

Countries

  • China
  • France
  • India and Pakistan
  • Iran
  • Israel
  • North Korea
  • Russia
  • United Kingdom

Explore

  • Nukes of Hazard blog
  • Nukes of Hazard podcast
  • Nukes of Hazard videos
  • Front and Center
  • Fact Sheets

About

  • About
  • Meet the Staff
  • Boards & Experts
  • Press
  • Jobs & Internships
  • Financials and Annual Reports
  • Contact Us
  • Council for a Livable World
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • Facebook

© 2023 Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation
Privacy Policy

Charity Navigator GuideStar Seal of Transparency