Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Chapter 1 Homeland Defense: The Threat of Direct Attacks with Long- Range Missiles and Weapons of Mass Destruction -- Chapter 2 Threat Assessment and Prioritization -- Chapter 3 The History of theModern U. S. National Missile Defense Program -- Chapter 4 The Changing Architecture of the U. S. National Missile Defense Program -- Chapter 5 Risk, Cost, and Benefits -- Chapter 6 The Deployment and Non- deployment Schedule for the NMD -- Chapter 7 Looking Beyond the Current System and Deployment Plan -- Chapter 8 The Role of Other Nations in Ballistic Missile Defense -- Chapter 9 Conclusions and Future Options -- Notes -- About the Author.