SANTA MONICA, California, July 11 -- Rand issued the following commentary on July 8, 2025, to RealClearDefense: * * * Golden Dome Could Learn from SDI Politics By William Courtney President Trump has proposed that to "protect our homeland" he would move ahead with a Golden Dome missile defense. The Department of Defense is seeking a hefty budget increase for it next year, but the program is controversial. Missile defense was contentious also in the 1980s when President Ronald Reagan offered  more PR