from thousands of ballistic missiles in the Soviet hands, but from a small number of missiles in the hands of these states, states for whom terror and blackmail are a way of life. They seek weapons of mass destruction to intimidate their neighbors, and to keep the United States and other responsible nations from helping allies and friends in strategic parts of the world. Just because on September 11th the terrorist did not use ballistic missiles does not mean that they will not in the future. By implementing the defense missile system this is an act of deterrence. The defense missile system is not meant to be hostile at all. It is meant to the security and defense of our nation and our allies. It is meant as a defense against fundamentalist groups or rouge states. It is also it defense against other nations such as China. China may have already 300 + nuclear weapons deployed on intercontinental ballistic missiles. On September 2, 1999 contest fired an ICBM that consisted of a 5,000 mi. range. It is also working on an ICBM that would be capable of firing 7,500 mi, and being able to be deployed on a submarine. China has used these ICBM is as leverage in dealing with Taiwan. China is a friend of United States, but also it is seen as a potential threat. Another friend but potential threat United States is Russia. It is the fact that Russia has over 6000 nuclear warheads attached to intercontinental ballistic missiles, as of July 1999. This is a real threat the United States does not want to overlook. The fact that there are these weapons in Russia and that Russia is still unstable America does not want to risk an accidental fire from Russia. Many opponents to missile defense see nothing at but trouble ahead. They understand it as a deterrence however but a threatening deterrence. Countries like Russia, China, and India see is a clear violation of the Anti-Ballistic missile Treaty signed in 1972. Russia has many objections to United...
