Observers have not yet fully understood or analyzed another possible reality. The current striking disparity between the United States and all other countries in economic, technological, and military endeavors places extreme limits on most countries’ abilities to respond meaningfully. Old concerns that U.S. advances in missile defense or space would spawn undesirable arms races may no longer be valid. For example, the United States is the only nation capable of implementing and sustaining decisive military force on a global basis. The war in Afghanistan provided a snapshot of this ability. The nation’s development and use of many capabilities—modern airpower; long-range precision weapons; command, control, and communications and intelligence; and highly skilled soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen—have drastically outpaced all other countries. No other country could carry out the mission that the United States is executing in Afghanistan. Any other country or alliance, such as the proposed 60,000-person European Rapid Reaction Force, performing a similar mission in the near term or in the midterm is equally doubtful. Even more significantly, in the current global war on terrorism, the United States is working to increase the scope of its capabilities to operate simultaneously in several spots around the world.

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McLaughlin, Kevin. "Would Space-Based Defenses Improve Security?." Washington Quarterly. Vol. 25 (Summer 2002): 177-191. [ 3 quotes ] [ page 184 ]