<< Even if the missile defense system had a 1% chance of knocking down a missile, wouldn't you want that chance? >>
Let me see... so out of 100,000 missiles, maybe 1,000 will be hit before they reach the ground? What about the other 99,000 missiles? Seems to be a pretty poor performance for a billions of dollars costing project.
If the performance was much better than this, terrorists would still have the final word: they'll attack the country from within, so that this protective shield will be useless.