Ballistic Missile Defense And Offensive Arms Reductions A Review Of The Historical Record

Ballistic missile defenses (BMD) have been an issue in U.S.-Soviet and U.S.-Russian arms control talks since the 1970s. During the Cold War, the nations sought to balance limits on offensive weapons and defensive weapons so that they could maintain ¿strategic stability,¿ which refers to the ability of each side to launch a retaliatory strike after absorbing a first strike by the other side. Contents of this report: (1) Intro.; (2) Strategic Stability and the Relationship Between Offensive and Defensive Forces; (3) BMD and the 1991 START Treaty: The Negotiating Framework; START Ratification; Resolving Competing Priorities; BMD Programs and Budgets; BMD in the 1980s, and 1990s; Current BMD Plans and Programs; (4) BMD Budgets Over Time.

The United States and Russia signed the New START Treaty on April 8, 2010, and it awaits Senate consideration. The preamble to the Treaty contains a "provision on the interrelationship of strategic offensive arms and strategic defensive arms." This statement does not contain any limits on current or planned U.S. missile defense programs. However, some analysts have questioned whether Russia's threat to withdraw from New START if the United States expands its missile defense capabilities might have a "chilling effect" on U.S. missile defense plans and programs.

Defense against nuclear attack—so natural and seemingly so compelling a goal—has provoked debate for at least twenty years. Ballistic missle defense systems, formerly called antiballistic missile systems, offer the prospect of remedying both superpowers' alarming vulnerability to nuclear weapons by technological rather than political means. But whether ballistic missile defenses can be made to work and whether it is wise to build them remain controversial. The U.S.-Soviet Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty of 1972 restricts testing and deployment of ballistic missile defenses but has not prohibited more than a decade of research and development on both sides. As exotic new proposals are put forward for space-based directed-energy systems, questions about the effectiveness and wisdom of missile defense have again become central to the national debate on defense policy. This study, jointly sponsored by the Brookings Institution and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, examines the strategic, technological, and political issues raised by ballistic missile defense. Eight contributors take an analytical approach to their areas of expertise, which include the relationship of missile defense to nuclear strategy, the nature and potential applications of current and future technologies, the views on missile defense in the Soviet Union and among the smaller nuclear powers, the meaning of the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty for today's technology, and the present role and historical legacy of ballistic missile defense in the context of East-West relations. The volume editors give a comprehensive introduction to this wide range of subjects and an assessment of future prospects. In the final chapter, nine knowledgeable observers offer their varied personal views on the ballistic missile defense question.

This nontechnical overview of developments in nuclear arms control describes how the United States and the Soviet Union arrived at their present positions-and where they might go from here. According to Foreign Affairs, "This book is proof that the complexities of arms control can be successfully explained in a nontechnical, and even more importantly, nonpartisan manner....It presents the key issues in a clear, thorough, and remarkably up-to-date way....Strongly recommended as a primary source for classroom and public discussions."

2019 Missile Defense Review - January 2019 According to a senior administration official, a number of new technologies are highlighted in the report. The review looks at "the comprehensive environment the United States faces, and our allies and partners face. It does posture forces to be prepared for capabilities that currently exist and that we anticipate in the future." The report calls for major investments from both new technologies and existing systems. This is a very important and insightful report because many of the cost assessments for these technologies in the past, which concluded they were too expensive, are no longer applicable. Why buy a book you can download for free? We print this book so you don't have to. First you gotta find a good clean (legible) copy and make sure it's the latest version (not always easy). Some documents found on the web are missing some pages or the image quality is so poor, they are difficult to read. We look over each document carefully and replace poor quality images by going back to the original source document. We proof each document to make sure it's all there - including all changes. If you find a good copy, you could print it using a network printer you share with 100 other people (typically its either out of paper or toner). If it's just a 10-page document, no problem, but if it's 250-pages, you will need to punch 3 holes in all those pages and put it in a 3-ring binder. Takes at least an hour. It's much more cost-effective to just order the latest version from Amazon.com This book includes original commentary which is copyright material. Note that government documents are in the public domain. We print these large documents as a service so you don't have to. The books are compact, tightly-bound, full-size (8 1/2 by 11 inches), with large text and glossy covers. 4th Watch Publishing Co. is a HUBZONE SDVOSB. https: //usgovpub.com

On May 26, 2011, the House of Representatives approved H.R. 1540, the FY2012 Nat. Defense Authorization Act, by a vote of 322-96. In all, the bill authorizes $690.1 billion in discretionary funding formilitary activities of the Dept. of Defense (DOD) and for nuclear weapons-related activities of the Dept. of Energy (DOE), an increase of $1.1 billion over the amount requested. Of the total, $553.0 billion is for the DOD base budget, including military construction, $18.1billion is for the DOE, and $118.9 billion is for DOD overseas contingency operations. All of the net increase to the request is for overseas operations. Contents of this report: (1) Most Recent Developments; (2) Status of Legislation; (3) FY2012 DOD Budget Request: Base Budget Highlights; War Cost Highlights; (4) Budgetary Impact and Deficit; (5) Bill-by-Bill Synopsis of Congressional Action to Date: FY2012 National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 1540): House of Representatives; FY2012 DOD Appropriations Act. Figures and tables. This is a print on demand report.

This book examines the transformation in US thinking about the role of Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) in national security policy since the end of the Cold War. The evolution of the BMD debate after the Cold War has been complex, complicated and punctuated. As this book shows, the debate and subsequent policy choices would often appear to reflect neither the particular requirements of the international system for US security at any given time, nor indeed the current capabilities of BMD technology. Ballistic Missile Defence and US National Security Policy traces the evolution of policy from the zero-sum debates that surrounded the Strategic Defense Initiative as Ronald Reagan left office, up to the relative political consensus that exists around a limited BMD deployment in 2012. The book shows how and why policy evolved in such a complex manner during this period, and explains the strategic reasoning and political pressures shaping BMD policy under each of the presidents who have held office since 1989. Ultimately, this volume demonstrates how relative advancements in technology, combined with growth in the perceived missile threat, gradually shifted the contours and rhythm of the domestic missile defence debate in the US towards acceptance and normalisation. This book will be of much interest to students of missile defence and arms control, US national security policy, strategic studies and international relations in general.