NCJ Number
195334
Editor(s)
Henry Sokolski,
James M. Ludes
Date Published
2001
Length
206 pages
Annotation
This book presents a collection of works regarding strategic weapons proliferation.
Abstract
The first section discusses what the strategic weapons proliferation challenges are that the United States and its allies will face in the next years. India and Pakistan’s nuclear tests have destroyed the myth that there are only five nuclear nations. Also, evidence is examined for why terrorists are not likely to use nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons. Finally, this section examines a set of emerging threats: India’s development of precise ballistic missiles, Iran’s development of sea denial capabilities in the Persian Gulf, and China’s development of advanced space technology. Countering these emerging threats will require the United States to develop a new set of long-term, highly leveraged military, economic, and diplomatic strategies. The second section is devoted to gauging the adequacy of planned United States and allied responses. It critiques the current crop of arms control and military prescriptions offered by both hawks and doves. It is argued that far more resources and attention need to be focused on the original Counterproliferation Initiative announced by the Defense Department in 1993. The next chapter argues that the deficiencies of the original initiative are basic. The United States and its allies need to protection their forces against weapons of mass destruction, as well as take into account the character of different potential opponents and their ability to use advanced conventional weapon systems. The last part of this section considers what substantive steps the United States and its allies would have to take if they were serious about nuclear proliferation. The last section of the book focuses on the growing availability of strategic weapons technology that may make the transition to a more peaceful world less than smooth. Next, the historical causes of antipathy between Islam, Western and Christian cultures are detailed. More than the nominal emergence of democracy is required to encourage peaceful relations between nations such as Argentina and Brazil. The concluding chapter argues for the primacy of sound theory in divining and shaping the fate of proliferation. Index