"This paper suggests a framework that relates U.S. policies regarding the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) and arms control to fundamental objectives of U.S. security--deterring aggression and limiting damage should deterrence fail. The paper argues that an "early deployment" of a nationwide ballistic missile defense is unnecessary and might undermine, rather than strengthen, U.S. security. The United States should consider deployment of such defenses only when it becomes clear that they could fundamentally improve U.S. security by assuring national survival in the event of a nuclear attack. Because the weight of evidence indicates that assured survival would be feasible only in cooperation with the Soviet Union, the paper concludes that the SDI depends on arms control to be viable as anything more than a modest research program."--Rand abstracts.

The Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) to develop a ballistic missile defense (BMD) system has both short-range and long-range risks as well as potential benefits. For the most part, however, strategic, technological, and political issues relevant to SDI have been analyzed in isolation from one another. This book provides a more inclusive framework for assessing the possible development and deployment of a BMD system by the United States or the Soviet Union. Contributors discuss the risks for arms race stability, probable reactions of the Soviet Union to any U.S. space-based defense system, and implications for the stability of extended deterrence commitments to NATO European allies. They also evaluate Soviet research and development programs in missile defense that must be considered in any extrapolation of the requirements for U.S. deterrence in the next several decades.

This multi-authored volume by scientists and strategic thinkers presents a broad spectrum of American thought and opinion on arms control. Particularly on the highly controversial issue of the Strategic Defense Initiative, their thinking mirrors the diverse conclusions of the citizenry and the public. The focus of this volume is on unresolved issues and problems, such as SDI, but also antisatellite weapons in space, verification and compliance, and nuclear terrorism. Contributors: Dr. Edward Teller, General James A. Abrahamson, Dr. John Kogut, Townsend Hoopes, Dr. Paul Stares, Richard Scribner and Dr. Paul Leventhal.

Ronald Reagan has left office and the fate of the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) is still undecided. This book provides an essential basis for evaluating the policy choices that the new U.S. leaders will face with respect to SDI through the 1990s. It explores key security and policy issues related to SDI including the emergence of SDI, technical evolution of the program since 1983, R & D in the 1990s, Soviet responses to SDI, issues for the allies, the effect of SDI on offensive and defensive nuclear strategies, options for arms control and the relationship between SDI and the overall U.S. defense posture. Contents: The Future of SDI: An Introduction, William J. Perry, Brent Scowcroft, Joseph S. Nye, Jr., and James A. Schear; SDI During the Reagan Years, Strobe Talbott; Trends in Strategic Defense Technologies, Thomas H. Johnson; The Near-Term Impact of SDI on Soviet Strategic Programs: An Institutional Perspective, Stephen M. Meyer; SDI and the All Jeffrey Boutwell; SDI and the Existing Arms Control Regime, Edward L. Warner III; The Structure of Future Agreements on Ballistic Missile Defense, Ashton B. Carter; SDI and the U.S. Defense Posture, Michael M. May; Appendix A: The 1972 ABM Treaty.

This history of the Strategic Defense Initiative ranges across politics, economics, strategic studies and international relations, and provides the latest research into the SDI interest groups, the distribution of contracts, and the politics of influence. It discusses the wider contexts of 'Star Wars', such as alliance management, marketing, and domestic politics, and its military spin-offs, especially for anti-satellite (ASAT) and 'space control' programmes. The author tests the theoretical literature on the dynamics of the arms race by using SDI as a case study, and draws evidence from sources such as congressional hearings, interviews, the trade press, restricted briefing papers, and documents obtained under the US Freedom of Information Act. The book follows the fortunes of strategic defence into the changed global conditions of the 1990s, following the collapse of the Soviet bloc, the Gulf War, and President Bush's announcement of a refocused SDI, the Global Protection Against Limited Strikes (GPALS).

Bringing together proponents and opponents of the Strategic Defense Initiative, this book includes original essays by leading experts on every aspect of the issue. The collection provides a valuable introduction to the many complex questions involved in any serious consideration of the SDI. The contributors explore such issues as the strategic impl