From Star Wars to Golden Domes
Published in El Heraldo de México
(Mexico) on 30 May 2025
by José Carreño Figueras (link to original)
Trump used the Golden Dome to revitalize his proposal to make Canada the 51st state of the United States.
Forty years ago, President Ronald Reagan announced his Strategic Defense Initiative, a project better known as Star Wars, to defend the United States from potential intercontinental missile attacks. In general terms, the idea was to thwart the attacks by detecting and destroying the missiles.
The project had other impacts, the Pentagon told me at the time. Mexico, which would be exposed to lost or diverted missiles because of its proximity, “would be as protected as we are,” a spokesperson said. “When a missile is launched, we don't know where it's going, so it would be best to shoot it down as soon as possible after takeoff.”*
The SDI never materialized. This was partly due to costs, partly to technological problems, and largely because the Soviet Union, the leading rival power, disappeared at the end of that decade. In this context, there would be much to ask about the Golden Dome initiative President Donald Trump has launched to protect the United States from potential attacks by guided or hypersonic missiles.
Allegedly inspired by Israel’s Iron Dome, Trump's proposal would be much larger and obviously much more expensive, to be built over three years, with an initial estimated price tag of $175 billion.
But the Congressional Budget Office estimated that the cost could exceed $500 billion and take 20 years to deploy. From the outset, the project faces problems of scale — the United States is much larger than Israel —and technology.
An analysis by the prestigious Chatham House in Britain also noted that "A system that aspires to make the US invulnerable to missile attack would almost certainly be seen by its adversaries as an attempt to undermine the logic of nuclear deterrence. If Washington is perceived to be developing a shield that could one day neutralize a retaliatory nuclear strike, it risks triggering a dangerous global arms race."
In fact, some of these competitors (Russia, China) have already accused the project of being destabilizing, although it’s possible and even logical that these same governments are pursuing similar systems.
Trump used the Golden Dome to revitalize his proposal to make Canada the 51st state of the United States.
It’s true that 40 years ago, as now, it is difficult to imagine that any country could deliberately launch a missile aimed at Mexico, but a 3,000-kilometer (approximately 1,864-mile) border with the presumed main target, the United States, makes it less unlikely — at least because of the possibility of diversion.
Whether we like it or not, Mexico would be affected, not only because of its geographical proximity but also because of the number of Mexicans and Mexican Americans in the United States and the economic ties between the two countries.
*Editor’s Note: These quoted remarks, accurately translated, could not be independently verified.
Forty years ago, President Ronald Reagan announced his Strategic Defense Initiative, a project better known as Star Wars, to defend the United States from potential intercontinental missile attacks. In general terms, the idea was to thwart the attacks by detecting and destroying the missiles.
The project had other impacts, the Pentagon told me at the time. Mexico, which would be exposed to lost or diverted missiles because of its proximity, “would be as protected as we are,” a spokesperson said. “When a missile is launched, we don't know where it's going, so it would be best to shoot it down as soon as possible after takeoff.”*
The SDI never materialized. This was partly due to costs, partly to technological problems, and largely because the Soviet Union, the leading rival power, disappeared at the end of that decade. In this context, there would be much to ask about the Golden Dome initiative President Donald Trump has launched to protect the United States from potential attacks by guided or hypersonic missiles.
Allegedly inspired by Israel’s Iron Dome, Trump's proposal would be much larger and obviously much more expensive, to be built over three years, with an initial estimated price tag of $175 billion.
But the Congressional Budget Office estimated that the cost could exceed $500 billion and take 20 years to deploy. From the outset, the project faces problems of scale — the United States is much larger than Israel —and technology.
An analysis by the prestigious Chatham House in Britain also noted that "A system that aspires to make the US invulnerable to missile attack would almost certainly be seen by its adversaries as an attempt to undermine the logic of nuclear deterrence. If Washington is perceived to be developing a shield that could one day neutralize a retaliatory nuclear strike, it risks triggering a dangerous global arms race."
In fact, some of these competitors (Russia, China) have already accused the project of being destabilizing, although it’s possible and even logical that these same governments are pursuing similar systems.
Trump used the Golden Dome to revitalize his proposal to make Canada the 51st state of the United States.
It’s true that 40 years ago, as now, it is difficult to imagine that any country could deliberately launch a missile aimed at Mexico, but a 3,000-kilometer (approximately 1,864-mile) border with the presumed main target, the United States, makes it less unlikely — at least because of the possibility of diversion.
Whether we like it or not, Mexico would be affected, not only because of its geographical proximity but also because of the number of Mexicans and Mexican Americans in the United States and the economic ties between the two countries.
*Editor’s Note: These quoted remarks, accurately translated, could not be independently verified.
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