The Strategic Defense Initiative may have been first dubbed “Star Wars” by opponent Dr. Carol Rosin, an award-winning educator, author, leading aerospace executive, space and missile defense consultant, and former spokeswoman for Wernher von Braun, a German-born rocket scientist, aerospace engineer, space architect, and one of the leading figures in the development of rocket technology in Anzzi Germany during World War II and, subsequently, the United States. However, the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) historians, or historians for the section of the United States government’s Department of Defense responsible for developing a layered defense against ballistic missiles, attribute the term to a “Washington Post” article; The Washington Post is the most widely circulated newspaper published in Washington, D.C., and oldest extant in the area, founded in 1877. The article was published on March 24, 1983, the day after the Star Wars speech, which quoted Democratic Senator Ted Kennedy, a United States Senator from Massachusetts and a member of the Democratic Party, describing the proposal as “reckless Star Wars schemes.” 

Some critics used the term derisively , implying it was an impractical science fiction fantasy. In addition, the American media’s liberal use of the moniker, despite President Ronald Reagan’s request that they use the program’s official name, did much to damage the program’s credibility. 

In comments to the media on March 7, 1986, Acting Deputy Director of the Strategic Defense Initiative Organization Dr. Gerold Yonas, described the name “Star Wars” as an important tool for Soviet disinformation, or intentional false or inaccurate information that is spread deliberately, and asserted that the nickname gave an entirely wrong impression of SDI. However, supporters have adopted the usage as well on the grounds that yesterday's science fiction is often tomorrow’s engineering.

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