Should the next chapter of military history include the weaponization of space, the United States could strike an opponent anywhere in the world--on the ground, in the air, or in space--in a matter of seconds. This would be a remarkable advancement, a true revolution in military affairs. It would also be a mistake of historic proportions. In the history of warfare not a single breakthrough in weapons technology has gone unchallenged for a significant period of time by a neutralizing counterdevelopment. From the musket to the repeating rifle to the machine gun, each innovation changed the face of warfare temporarily, but none provided a lasting advantage to the original developer. In some cases, the rush to deploy a new weapon was, in hindsight, counterproductive and unwise. Take our experience with multiple, independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRVs)--the multiple warheads on a single ballistic missile each of which can be directed independently at a different target. In the early 1970s, acting on a desire to overwhelm what turned out to be a very limited Soviet missile defense and on thin evidence that a Soviet MIRV deployment was imminent, the United States deployed MIRVs with virtually no constraints from the administration at the time. The Soviets did not sit idle. Within several years they, too, were deploying MIRVed systems.

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Robb, Charles S. "Star Wars II." Washington Quarterly. Vol. 22, No. 13 (Winter 1999): 81-86. [ 3 quotes ]