Well, in Slate's June 20, 2000 Remote-Control Assassination, Robert Wright certainly presented one logical view of the 'lets discuss why not spend 60 billion dollars on a new space-game' perspective.

Not only is it not likely that any 'rogue' states would ever ballistically engage US in an old fashioned (Germany vs. Britain type) manner, but, in the age where 100's of millions are 'lost in space' merely because people can not convert inches to millimeters, or timely check quality of mirror grinding…,  it is more likely that the high tech manufacturers will mistakenly take out a GPS satellite or two in the never-ending process of training for and maintenance of a sophisticated 'shoot-em-down' systems before we see any intentional misuses, thereby adding a few zeros to the stated figure, and then surely waking up a healthy social debate on merits of the undertaking.

Few points beyond and along with warranted sarcasmiking:

1. Precise GPS, as means of assassination, is impractical. Plenty of cheaper fanatics out there to avenge personal grudges at a fraction of a price of a used missile. (Don’t e-mail me for references)

2. Hand delivered fertilizer is so much more appropriate as a weapon of mass destruction than politically flavor-less high tech. Without any post-facto DNA testing of nukes aftermath, no terrorist group could get the kudos and, hence,  no intended leverage in shaping the post-facto public perceptions, etc.

3. Any civilized country is full of things that explode big time, given very little know-how and requiring no
satellite GPS or operational support. Historically, precision is not in the nature of terrorism. Had it not been for the widely televised high-tech guidance of air-to-ground missile hits in Iraq, your typical terrorist would not even think about precision what so ever. What ever is happening to the honorable knife- or sniper routine. (If there is anything to this GPS-assassination scenario, investment in P.O. box business is a go…)

4. Proximally situated to a target and remotely fired terrorist devices are infinitely cheaper, more precise, and not vulnerable to frequency modulations or radiating spots on the sun's corona gobbledygook.

5. Irregardless of politics, ultra precise GPS systems as real means to saving lives and improving healthy vigorous life-styles of the middle class hiking, boating, camping and air navigating humanoids is not an 'if' but a 'when'.

6. While 60 billion is a lot of money, we will not spend it in Chechnya or Lebanon. Perhaps graduating from an era of arcade video games to a larger scale 'more of the same' seems like a form of an expensive social juvenile transference, the foundation of the new defense initiative is not so decadent or irrational.

Millions of 'smart' jobs will be created or enhanced for a new generation of kids growing into tomorrow's computer programmers, chemists, metallurgists, radio-, satellite-, guidance-, laser-, communication-, and construction- specialists...

"Smart jobs against smart bombs" has a ring to it.

They may not live to see an intercontinental ballistic missile evaporated (or reprogrammed in mid-flight to return to home base), but may serendipitously enough find bliss in zapping a naughty meteorite or an infectious trans-migrating flock or two.

Hey, it does not sound like much but the last infectious bird biggie cost the taxpayers plenty...

A suggestion: ' Don't worry, Be happy... If it works, we'll find a worth while use for it, and the brains it honed... If it don’t, we’ll still learn something constructively.'

As for GPS and ... - Wake up folks, the cause of terrorism is rage. It is neither empowered by new technology nor deterred by suppression of it. Where there is a will there will always be a way.

P.S.  If new lasers and guidance systems allow us to periodically clean up the stratosphere of the accumulated orbiting junk – that in itself may be a worth while effort with far reaching implications.
 

Dr. Spartacus Fusion - Editor
SAPERE-AUDE Journal of  History of Science, Technology & Medicine
Nikita Private European Internet University
augustian.tripod.com