Trump's Golden Dome will spark dangerous retaliation from Russia
Donald Trump's bizarre Golden Dome missile shield "threatens a dangerous new arms race" amid fears Russia and China will retaliate with "more advanced systems", an expert has warned.
The US president unveiled the concepts he wants for his future £400 billion Golden Dome missile defence program at the White House on Tuesday, which he hopes will be "fully operational before the end of my term", in 2029.
For the first time, the system will put US weapons in space that include the ability to intercept missiles. The Golden Dome will detect and stop missiles at all four major stages of a potential attack, which include pre-launch, the earliest stage of flight, stopping them midcourse in the air, and halting them in their final minutes.
The Congressional Budget Office estimated this month that just the space-based components of the Golden Dome could cost as much as £400 billion over the next 20 years. Trump has requested an initial £15 billion for the program in his proposed tax break bill now moving through Congress.
Inderjeet Parmar, professor of International Politics at the City, University of London, believes the Golden Dome "threatens to ignite a dangerous new arms race."
He told The Mirror: "The US is attempting to counter the rising influence of state-capitalist powers, particularly China's advancements in hypersonic and space-based technologies.
"The Golden Dome threatens to ignite a dangerous new arms race as global tensions rise under the aggressive strategies – threats of invasion of other states, trade wars, and general weaponisation of US power – pursued by Trump's second administration."
"While there are some concerns about China's and Russia's growing missile systems, The Golden Dome's branding and rhetoric—evoking Israel 's Iron Dome and promising to be a 'game changer' for national security—is more likely a political weapon to legitimise militarisation.
"US policies are frequently if not always framed as defensive, using narrative of protecting the 'homeland' from 'catastrophic attacks', which are normally ways of rallying public support to pay the tax dollars.
"The Golden Dome – by referencing Israel's initiative - adopts a similar rhetoric of victimhood to justify militarism, ignoring the U.S.'s role in provoking global tensions through its own actions."
The expert also believes China and Russia "may develop more advanced offensive systems" in response to Trump's Golden Dome.
He added: "The Golden Dome, by threatening the deterrence capabilities of Russia and China, risks escalating an arms race, as these nations may develop more advanced offensive systems in response. U.S. militarism often provokes counter-reactions, destabilising the international order while claiming to enhance security. In practice, Gold Dome threatens to undermine the deterrent effects of 'mutually assured destruction' which is the foundation of nuclear stability."
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