The Cruise Missile And Arms Control

The treatment of long-range, land-attack, sea-launched, and air-launched cruise missiles has been and will continue to be a major stumbling block in negotiations aimed at controlling strategic nuclear weapons. The existence of both conventional and nuclear variants is a frequently mentioned reason, since it is impossible to distinguish the two types except by close inspection. However, a more fundamental problem is that cruise missiles are carried by platforms--ships, submarines, and bombers--that have many important roles, mostly unrelated to nuclear capabilities, that are the subject of strategic nuclear arms control. This report examines options for controlling both air- and sea-launched cruise missiles within strategic arms control treaties. It assesses these options by the extent to which they provide easily verifiable limits on nuclear cruise missiles, allow substantial deployments of conventional cruise missiles, and avoid operational restrictions on conventional military forces.

The cruise missile is the principal innovation in U.S. weaponry in the early 1980s. Because it is inexpensive and versatile, it is likely to be used for a wide range of military missions. At the same time, it has become a delicate issue in arms control and alliance politics. Although cruise missile programs are among the most dynamic elements in the U.S. defense buildup, their consequences have not been fully appreciated. This book assesses the complex set of technological, budgetary, strategic, diplomatic, and political implications of this new weapon as a contribution to public understanding of its pervasive influence on diplomacy and military affairs. Cruise missile technology and development programs are dealt with in chapters by John C. Toomay; Godron MacDonald, Jack Ruina, and Mark Balaschak; Ron Huisken; and John C. Baker. Military uses and arm control implications are discussed by Bruce Bennett and James Foster; Roger H. Palin; Richard Burt; Michael MccGwire; George H. Quester; and William H. Kinkade. Diplomatic and national political questions are analyzed by Raymond L. Garthoff; Robert J. Art and Stephen E. Ockenden; Gregory F. Treverton; Lawrence D. Freedman; and Catherine McArdle Kelleher.

This edited volume provides a systematic analysis of the missile threat and proliferation issue in the Middle East region. The question of how to increase the level of security in the Middle East is not a new one, given the conflict-ridden nature of the region. The solution attempted for this predicament has typically revolved around intense arms build-ups, a strategy which can prove self-defeating due to the subsequent countermeasures employed by neighbouring states. Arms Control and Missile Proliferation in the Middle East focuses on the strategic proliferation of arms, with a specific emphasis on missiles. This unique emphasis enables the contributors to provide a dynamic new perspective on conceptual and political disarmament efforts, thereby distinguishing this volume from many other related works on the region, which deal mainly with weapons of mass destruction. The book also explores the possibility of a reduction in weapon arsenals, examining a more promising cooperative security concept which includes confidence- and security-building measures (CSBMs). This book will be of much interest to students of arms control, Middle Eastern politics, Gulf Security, war and conflict studies, security studies and IR.

First published in 1985, Misguided Missiles examines the intense controversies surrounding Canadian participation in the development of new weapons systems during the Reagan years. Simon Rosenblum demonstrated how these weapons systems were dubious even on their own terms--technically, economically and strategically. Deploying a tremendous depth of research, the author shows how Pentagon and defence industry machinations, rather than security needs, explain the contemporary rise of the cruise missile and Star Wars initiatives. Misguided Missiles offers a vital an immediate appreciation of one of the most contentious debates in Canadian national life in the early 1980s.

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."