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[[Image:Sdilogo.png|200px|right|thumb]]

[[Image:Sdilogo.png|200px|right|thumb]]

The '''Strategic Defense Initiative''' (SDI), commonly called '''Star Wars''', was a proposal by U.S. President [[Ronald Reagan]] in 1983 to build a ground- and space-based system to protect the U.S. from nuclear ballistic missiles.  The system was never fully set up, but the research from this paved the way for the anti-ballistic missile systems of today, including the [[Patriot missile]] that provided the defense against [[Iraq]]i Scud missiles launched against [[American]] forces and [[Israel]] during the [[Gulf War]].  It is believed by some experts that the [[Soviet Union]]'s response necessitated by SDI contributed to their financial and political collapse (The Soviet Union practice [[Atheism|atheistic]] [[communism]]).  

The '''Strategic Defense Initiative''' (SDI), commonly called '''Star Wars''', was a proposal made by U.S. President [[Ronald Reagan]] directly to the surprised [[America]]n people in a televised addressed on March 23, 1983, to build a ground- and space-based system to protect the U.S. from nuclear ballistic missiles.  The system has not yet been fully set up, but the research from this paved the way for the anti-ballistic missile systems of today, including the [[Patriot missile]] that provided the defense against [[Iraq]]i Scud missiles launched against [[American]] forces and [[Israel]] during the [[Gulf War]].  It is believed by some experts that panic among the leadership of the [[Soviet Union]] about SDI contributed to their financial and political collapse.  (The Soviet Union was dominated by a hopeless [[Atheism|atheistic]], [[communist]] mindset.)  

 

{{cquote|American technological genius has developed a marvelous new weapon which can give us the anti-missile defense we need. It is called the Nike X. It has been developed. and thoroughly tested, so that we know it is reliable and ready to go Into production. It consists of three parts. First there is MAR, or multi-function array radar, which is what separates the real missiles from the decoys. Then there is the Zeus, the long-range missile which goes out Into space and kills the enemy missile before it hits us. Finally, there is the Sprint, the short range missile which goes up and kills any enemy missile which might have gotten past Zeus. We have already spent a great sum of money in developing and testing the Nike X, under the direction of General Austin Betts. and it is ready to put into production. This Nike X has been unanimously recommended by the U.S. Joint Chiefs oi Staff since early 1965. It has the near-unanimous support of the United States Congress. In May of this year. the House Armed Services Committee of 38 members. released a unanimous report which was an across-the-board indictment of the McNamara policies and specifically recommended appropriations to proceed with engineering on ihe Nike X. When this was presented lo the Congress of the United States, it passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 356 to 2. and it passed the Senate by a vote of 81 to 1. But in spite of the fact that this weapon has been unanimously endorsed by the U.S. Joint Chiefs oi Stall for more than a year, and has received this remarkable unanimity of support in Congress, Secretary McNamara and his clique of gravediggers are determined that we shall not have it. He is refusing to spend the money and is opposing the building of the anti-missile defense we need.}}

SDI was a major component of the [[Reagan Doctrine]] in foreign policy, designed to push the Soviets to its limits and beyond into collapse.

SDI was a major component of the [[Reagan Doctrine]] in foreign policy, designed to push the Soviets to its limits and beyond into collapse.