Strategic defense initiative and the Soviet Union

Journal Article · · Daedalus (Boston); (United States)

OSTI ID:5286151

Holloway, D

None of the important questions about the technical and operational feasibility of the strategic defense initiative (SDI) or about its effect on US security, the risk of nuclear war, and the prospect for arms control can be answered without considering the Soviet view and likely response. The main appeal of SDI is a world in which the two superpowers would have defenses that would render nuclear weapons impotent and obsolete. Defensive systems must be embedded in a strict arms-control regime that limits offensive systems. The attempt to build defenses in the current political and technological circumstances, however, will push the other side into expanding and upgrading its offensive forces. The effort to build ballistic missile defense (BMD) can, and possibly will, undermine the condition needed to ensure that BMD contributes to a safer world.

• Research Organization: Stanford Univ., CA
• OSTI ID: 5286151
• Journal Information: Daedalus (Boston); (United States), Journal Name: Daedalus (Boston); (United States) Vol. 2; ISSN DAEDA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
290600* -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Nuclear Energy
AGREEMENTS
ARMS CONTROL
ASIA
BALLISTIC MISSILE DEFENSE
EASTERN EUROPE
EUROPE
GOVERNMENT POLICIES
INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
NATIONAL DEFENSE
NUCLEAR WEAPONS
USSR
WEAPONS