Ballistic Missile Protection: Previous and Future

To assist put the potential worth of a nationwide missile protection system in perspective, take into account three eventualities, one modeled on a historic occasion, the opposite two hypothetical. First, suppose that the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait happens 20 years later, which is to say, about now. Saddam Hussein has an arsenal of two or three long-range missiles outfitted with organic or nuclear warheads. These weapons are geared toward New York and/or Washington (and even nearer targets, resembling Tel Aviv or London). He threatens to launch them if the US makes an attempt to throw him out of Kuwait. Within the absence of a missile protection system, what choices does the President of the US have for dislodging Iraq from Kuwait—or stopping occupation of Saudi oilfields?