Lawrence F. Kaplan

About the author: Lawrence F. Kaplan is a senior editor at The New Republic, a journal of opinion. His writings about foreign policy have appeared in Commentary, the Washington Post, and other publications.

The United States needs missile defense not just for protection against attack, but to protect its ability to use force in international relations. Currently, countries that possess missiles have largely succeeded in placing themselves off-limits for forceful American intervention—a situation the United States should and could prevent by constructing a robust missile defense. A seabased missile defense system is preferable to the Alaska-based one proposed by President Bill Clinton and continued by President George W. Bush.

Thank God for missile defense. For Washington foreign policy types who spent the last decade snoring through panels...