'33 Minutes,' Missile Defense Documentary, Screened At Washington College

Chestertown – The Washington College Republican Club will present a screening of the hard-hitting documentary “33 Minutes: Protecting America in the New Missile Age” at Litrenta Lecture Hall on Sunday, October 4, at 7 p.m.

The one-hour film’s title refers to the alarmingly short amount of time – 33 minutes or less – that it would take for a ballistic missile from a foreign enemy to reach the United States from anywhere in the world.

The documentary puts forth the argument that, while America’s enemies are continually attempting to stockpile arsenals, the U.S. government has failed to match the gathering threat by building the missile defense systems capable of defending against such potential attacks.

North Korea is currently developing a long-range ballistic missile that could soon carry a nuclear warhead all the way to Alaska or California.

Iran already has missiles that can reach Europe, and could soon acquire nuclear weapons.

These countries could share their missile and nuclear technologies with terrorists, who would in turn be able to directly threaten New York City and other American cities with short-range missiles. 

“33 Minutes” asserts that the time has come to revive the strategic missile defense system that America uniquely can develop, maintain and employ. The technologies exist to do the job, and, as the film points out, building such a system would be affordable – costing no more than 3 percent of the total annual defense budget.



To underscore the urgency of the situation, the documentary highlights the disastrous consequences of a nuclear explosion on American soil – one that could happen in just 33 minutes.

Litrenta Lecture Hall is located in the John S. Toll Science Center. Admission to “33 Minutes: Protecting America in the New Missile Age” is free and open to the public.