[arsenal]

But every technology has to go through certain stages.

Take the shuttle for instance. There is alot of trial and error. Now, sending people into space is fairly routine and relatively safe. I am not saying that space travel is not dangerous, just that it is safer than it used to be.

The missle defence system, while fairly anemic at this point in time, is still in the purely developmental phase. It may become a viable technology in 5-10 years, but it requires funding in order to get to that point.

As far as there being any threat of a missle attack against the US, it is still a possibility, but it is a minimal one at that. The justification of the cost is really up to the administration to decide. And that changes depending on who is in office.