Ballistic Missile Defense: A German-American Analysis

Abstract

This paper is intended as a German-American contribution to a reasoned, patient, wide-ranging U.S.-European strategic discussion. It is not just another NMD advocacy piece, pro or con, but a joint attempt to examine missile defense within a strategic context. It begins by describing the prevailing conditions when the United States and Soviet Union agreed to ban NMD. It then explains key differences between those conditions and today's. Against this backdrop, it examines the desirability, feasibility, and risks and costs of missile defense in the wider context. Finally, it lays out a general approach to strategic offensive and defensive arms and arms control policy that might be the basis for U.S.-European discussions and eventual common ground.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2001
Accession Number
ADA387916

Entities

People

  • David C. Gompert
  • Klaus Arnhold

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Agreements
  • Arms Control
  • Arms Control Treaties
  • Asia
  • Ballistic Missiles
  • Chemical Weapons
  • Cold War
  • Defense Systems
  • Law
  • Military Operations
  • Nuclear Weapons
  • Security
  • Systems Engineering
  • Treaties
  • United States
  • Ussr
  • Weapons Of Mass Destruction

Fields of Study

  • Political science

Readers

  • Missile Defense Systems.
  • Systems Analysis and Design
  • ballistics.