| Samenvatting: | "Sar Wars" - the defence against nuclear menace - is the boldest venture in the history of mankind. A scientific undertaking that dwarfs the Manhattan Project and the moon landing, it is as revolutionary in its implications for world peace as it is for science. In this definitive explanation of "Star Wars," Robert Jastrow turns his attention to the most challenging problem of our time - the threat of nuclear attack. Renowned for his ability to make the most complex scientific matters understandable to a lay audience, he explains in lucid language what "Star Wars," or the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), is, how it works, and why it can protect Amerika. Dr. Jastrow, takes us through the workings of a full-fledged defense system, starting with the "smart bullet" defense which is available today, and going on to the advanced technologies of the "Star Wars" program - laser beams, neutral particle beams, electromagnetic railguns, and most controversial of all, the X-ray laser, details of which are still a closely guarded secret. "the smart bullet' could give us a 90-percent effective defense - good enough to protect the bulk of our retaliatory forces and prevent a Soviet first strike," Dr. Jastrow says. Soviet leaders will never attack the United States unless they can deliver a knockout blow to prevent us from retaliating. An attack which would leave 90 percent of retaliatory forces intact would be suicidal for the Soviet Union. A defense as strong as that gives full protection to the American people." Dr. Jastrow dispels the common belief that the Soviets could overwhelm the expensive "Star Wars" defense with relatively cheap offensive nuclear weapons. On the contrary, as he shows, such a strategy would be prohibitively costly. Furthermore, he provides the evidence that the Soviets have been working on their own "Star Wars" missile defense system for years. But, as he concludes, "A Soviet 'Star Wars' defense is a good development provided we have one too.... When the US and the USSR both have defenses against missiles, both nations will recognize the futility of a continued competition in offensive weapons. Nothing could be more favorable to the cause of ending the arms race and eliminating nuclear weapons from the world." |
| Trefwoorden: | kernwapens, ontwapening, Star Wars, wapenwedloop, USSR, Verenigde Staten, smart bullit, smart warhead, ruimtebasis, |