Yousaf Butt, scientific consultant to the Federation of American Scientists, discusses his article “Debunking the Missile-Defense Myth;” how missile defense systems – as currently implemented – can be easily and cheaply overwhelmed with decoy warheads; more promising alternatives like boost-phase interceptors; carrying on the status quo to benefit defense contractors and to give NATO a reason to exist; Russia’s concern about US and NATO “defensive” missiles in Eastern Europe; and establishing a free market for nuclear energy, without government subsidies.
MP3 here. (20:36)
Dr. Yousaf Butt is a scientific consultant to the Federation of American Scientists and a physicist in the High-Energy Astrophysics Division at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. He was on the instrument operations team responsible for the main focal plane instrument aboard NASA’s orbiting Chandra X-ray Observatory from 1999-2004. Previously, he has been a fellow in the Committee on International Security and Arms Control at the National Academy of Sciences and a research fellow in the Global Security Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists. He has authored numerous papers on technical aspects of national and global security issues as well as on astrophysics and nuclear physics. He holds a Ph.D. in nuclear physics from Yale University and a dual B.S. in mechanical engineering and physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.