QUOTED

If we fire at the satellite, the worst is that we miss, and then we have a known situation, which is where we are today. If we graze the satellite, we’re still better off, because likely we’ll still bring it down sooner, and therefore more predictably. If we hit the hydrazine tank, then we’ve improved our potential to mitigate that threat. So the regret factor of not acting clearly outweighed the regret factors of acting.”

Gen. James Cartwright, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, says a forthcoming test of the Pentagon’s antiballistic missile system is actually an effort to preserve world safety.