1. What is an intercontinental ballistic missile?

2. a) Where did the Minuteman III missile launched from Brandenburg AFB in California on Thursday land?
b) How many miles away was the landing location?
c) At what speed did it travel?
d) How long did the test take to complete?

3. What was the purpose of this and other recent test-fires? Be specific.

4. Why were these two recent tests so important?

5. How has the Obama administration addressed this problem?

6. a) How does President Obama’s defense budget differ from his previous stance on nuclear weapons?
b) Why do you think this is so?

7. The Reuters reporter noted, “Critics say the Pentagon's plans are unaffordable and unnecessary…Hans Kristensen, an analyst at the Federation of American Scientists, said the Pentagon's costly "all-of-the-above" effort to rebuild all its nuclear systems was a ‘train wreck that everybody can see is coming.’ Kingston Reif of the Arms Control Association, said the plans were ‘divorced from reality.’”

USA Today reports, “The test comes as relations between the U.S. and Russia have worsened and as North Korea is attempting to expand its nuclear capabilities. U.S. Adm. Cecil Haney, who heads U.S. Strategic Command, said Russia is also rapidly modernizing its own nuclear arsenal.”

a) With whom do you agree: anti-nuke advocates or the information from USA Today?
b) How important do you think it is for the U.S. to have a nuclear weapons and the ICBMs necessary to carry them?
c) Ask a parent the same questions.