Page 64 - January Febuary 2016 Issue
P. 64
Elite Investigative Journal
Arms Race, Arms Control and the Future of Missle Defense, pg 64-66
©2014-2016 SYT Global, Inc.
Arms Race, Arms Control and the Future
of Missle Defense
by Kim Holmes, Ph.D
Photo Courtesy of rt.com
“If history teaches anything,” Ronald Reagan control, treaties, polarity, or international
said, “it teaches that self-delusion in the condemnation. They want these weapons so that
face of unpleasant facts is folly.” These they can act with impunity and dictate foreign
words, delivered to the British Parliament policy to us. Once they have them, they can
in 1982, ring just as true today. It is sheer challenge us-perhaps by cutting off oil shipments
folly to ignore the growing threat to the free or attacking our allies-because they doubt that
world from ballistic missiles armed with we would send troops into countries capable of
nuclear, chemical, radiological, or biological retaliating with nuclear missiles. Such countries
weapons. would become virtual sanctuaries, free to export
terrorism and perhaps even to give weapons of
Since the end of the Cold War, these weapons mass destruction to the terrorists to do their dirty
have proliferated, their destructive capacity work.
has grown, and their range has increased. We
are still inding out the frightening extent of This is not a situation that Americans should
the proliferation by the A. Q. Khan network tolerate, but we will be forced to do so if we do
based in Pakistan. North Korea surprised not invest in a full array of missile defenses.
the world by testing a nuclear weapon in Missile defenses serve as important deterrents,
late 2006, and Iran has missiles that can rendering heavy investments in ballistic missile
reach Europe and, despite the world’s best and nuclear technology pointless and making
diplomacy, is still actively pursuing nuclear our enemies less likely to resort to nuclear
capabilities. Leaving ourselves vulnerable to blackmail. Deploying a layered system of missile
these weapons would be pure folly. defenses would greatly change the equation,
complementing all of the diplomatic, economic,
We may no longer fear Armageddon at the and military tools in our national security basket.
hands of the Soviet Union, but we must As our experience with Iran shows, diplomacy
worry about rogue regimes with nuclear alone is never enough. It must be backed by
weapons. Tyrants do not care about arms carrots and sticks-credible deterrents as well as
64
Arms Race, Arms Control and the Future of Missle Defense, pg 64-66
©2014-2016 SYT Global, Inc.
Arms Race, Arms Control and the Future
of Missle Defense
by Kim Holmes, Ph.D
Photo Courtesy of rt.com
“If history teaches anything,” Ronald Reagan control, treaties, polarity, or international
said, “it teaches that self-delusion in the condemnation. They want these weapons so that
face of unpleasant facts is folly.” These they can act with impunity and dictate foreign
words, delivered to the British Parliament policy to us. Once they have them, they can
in 1982, ring just as true today. It is sheer challenge us-perhaps by cutting off oil shipments
folly to ignore the growing threat to the free or attacking our allies-because they doubt that
world from ballistic missiles armed with we would send troops into countries capable of
nuclear, chemical, radiological, or biological retaliating with nuclear missiles. Such countries
weapons. would become virtual sanctuaries, free to export
terrorism and perhaps even to give weapons of
Since the end of the Cold War, these weapons mass destruction to the terrorists to do their dirty
have proliferated, their destructive capacity work.
has grown, and their range has increased. We
are still inding out the frightening extent of This is not a situation that Americans should
the proliferation by the A. Q. Khan network tolerate, but we will be forced to do so if we do
based in Pakistan. North Korea surprised not invest in a full array of missile defenses.
the world by testing a nuclear weapon in Missile defenses serve as important deterrents,
late 2006, and Iran has missiles that can rendering heavy investments in ballistic missile
reach Europe and, despite the world’s best and nuclear technology pointless and making
diplomacy, is still actively pursuing nuclear our enemies less likely to resort to nuclear
capabilities. Leaving ourselves vulnerable to blackmail. Deploying a layered system of missile
these weapons would be pure folly. defenses would greatly change the equation,
complementing all of the diplomatic, economic,
We may no longer fear Armageddon at the and military tools in our national security basket.
hands of the Soviet Union, but we must As our experience with Iran shows, diplomacy
worry about rogue regimes with nuclear alone is never enough. It must be backed by
weapons. Tyrants do not care about arms carrots and sticks-credible deterrents as well as
64
