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Essay Subject: Pros & cons of debate over offensive & defensive weaponry, research & development, Star Wars. Concludes with writer's personal pessimistic opinion.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Pros & cons of debate over offensive & defensive weaponry, research & development, Star Wars. Concludes with writer's personal pessimistic opinion. Paper Introduction: The advent of nuclear weapons has fundamentally changed the nature of war. A nuclear war is often described as "unthinkable" because it would be so devastating. However, nations keep stockpiling nuclear weapons and constantly develop new types of nuclear weaponry under the auspices of preventing a nuclear war. The purpose of this research is to examine the offensive versus defensive nature of nuclear weaponry. The current nuclear policy--Mutual Assured Destruction--will be analyzed for its effectiveness in preventing war, followed by a discussion of whether defensive weapons can help protect nations. Evolution of Nuclear Policy A clearly defined policy regarding the use of nuclear weaponry was first articulated by the Kennedy Administration in response to Soviet development of intercontinental missile Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. Nuclear Forces There are three components of the American strategic nuclear forcesknown as the Triad. Hunt, eds. SLBMs may bethe most evasive leg of the Triad now, but advancements in anti-submarinewarfare (ASW) with the assistance of satellite technology may erode theinvulnerability of strategic submarines sometime in the future (Blackaby,1979:958). Evolution of Nuclear Policy A clearly defined policy regarding the use of nuclear weaponry wasfirst articulated by the Kennedy Administration in response to Sovietdevelopment of intercontinental missile technology. They have also introduced several classesof MIRVs. The defensive nature of ABMswas seen as destabilizing because of their potential to protect civiliansas well as military targets from incoming missiles. The ABM Treaty prohibited research and deployment of suchdefensive systems but exempted those already in existence, one ABM near anoffensive missile site, one near the national capital, and a test range. Even if SDI did make nuclear weaponsobsolete, eventually the technology would merely usher in a new era ofincreasingly destructive weapons. "Arms Control and the Central Strategic Balance." InternationalJournal, Summer 1981.Greve, Frank. Eachnation possessed a nuclear arsenal capable of massive devastation to thecivilian population and economy, and agreed in essence to hold each other'surban populations hostage as a guarantee against strategic nuclear war.Civilians rather than the military became the primary target, andprevention rather than victory the primary objective. The reemergence of defenseagainst ballistic missiles as an official objective of the United Statescan be precisely dated to President Reagan's March 23, 1983, televisedannouncement (Blackaby, 1986:323). These threats ofArmageddon eventually were weaved by consensus into a modified nucleardeterrence policy, known as "mutual assured destruction" (MAD). "Space Weapons and Security." SIPRI Yearbook 1986(Philadelphia: Taylor and Francis, 1986).Congressional Research Service. President Kennedy formulated the initial version of deterrent theory inthreatening "total response" to actual Soviet use of nuclear weapons. Developments affecting the land-based continental ballistic missileshave been the focal point of recent arms control controversy. They have exploited armscontrol to create a "window of vulnerability." An American SDI program canclose this gap.Arguments Against SDI1) Star Wars is not a defensive system. In simple terms, a defensive weapon would be designedto destroy nuclear missiles rather than civilian populations and presumablywould not pose a first-strike threat. An effective defensive posture would render nuclear weaponsobsolete and thereby ensure a safer world. Mutual Assured Destruction became officially codified as nuclear policyin the 1972 SALT I agreements. It is reasonable to assume that as many as two-thirds of theaircraft could be lost trying to penetrate Soviet space. This increase in accuracy, coupled with the large yields ofSoviet missiles, makes them much more effective than the smaller Americanmissiles in destroying hardened silos. The advent of nuclear weapons has fundamentally changed the nature ofwar. Their mobility makes themexceedingly difficult to track and even harder to destroy in time toprevent a retaliatory response. SLBMs currently lack the accuracy of land-based missiles, thus relegating them to second-strike capability only.However, the United States is attempting to improve SLBM accuracy, eachMIRVed with 1 targetable warheads (Aviation Week, 198 :28). Because of the relative slowness of bombers and improved systems ofair defense, the air force is the weakest leg of the Triad (Westing,1988:351). Every weapon contains a defensive andoffensive nature, depending on how it is deployed or the current state oftechnology. American technologyappeared to outpace Soviet improvements in the most critical area--accuracy, calculated as circular area probable (CEP) in which a missile hasa 5 percent chance of striking within a given distance of the target.Using the advantage of greater accuracy, American warheads could berelatively small in yield and still deliver more destructive power to theirtargets than the inaccurate but large Russian warheads. Americannegotiators allowed the U.S.S.R. The air force has enhanced its strike capabilityconsiderably with the addition of cruise missiles. Unexpectedly, the Soviets have made tremendous advances in missileaccuracy, rivaling American standards of accuracy but with much largerwarheads (Finan, 1981:435-436). Suppose the Soviet Union were about to deploya space-based laser system above American territory that could disarm uswithout notice. If the Soviet Union werecapable of defending itself against a nuclear attack, the Soviets may notbe deterred from attacking Western Europe with either conventional ornuclear weapons. The precision of lasers would make them a first-strike weapon in which theUnited States conceivably could disable Soviet strategic forces withoutwarning. The Apocalytic Premise: Nuclear Arms Debated (Washington D.C.: Ethics and Public Policy Center, 1982).Westing, Arthur. Nuclearweapons policy turned from ethical considerations to a serious militarystrategy designed to prevent their use. Promoted by Reagan as a program that one daycould render nuclear weapons "obsolete and impotent," the federalgovernment has officially declared the objectives of SDI as follows: "Aresearch program designed to explore, in a manner consistent with all U.S.treaty obligations, the technical feasibility of a number of defensiveconcepts and technologies in order to find ways of providing a better basisfor deterring aggression, strengthening stability, and increasing thesecurity of the United States and its allies" (Congressional ResearchService, 1986). It is immoral to abdicate our responsibility todemocratic values and future generations not to match any serious weaponsdevelopments of our adversaries.3) Previous SALT agreements have allowed the Soviet Union to surpass themilitary capabilities of the United States. BibliographyAviation Week and Space Technology, "Trident Missile Capabilities Advance," June 18, 198 .Blackaby, Frank. The way to contain war is not throughadvancements in technology, but through political agreements.3) NATO allies are opposed to SDI. The distinction between offensive weapons and defensive weaponsis often quite hazy. A defensive nuclear policy of mutual assured protection (MAP) could beenacted through incremental steps of sharing defensive technology,deploying SDI systems in a balanced manner between both the United Statesand the Soviet Union, and making similar balanced reductions in strategicoffensive weapons.2) The Soviet Union is already researching and testing laser weaponstechnology. We might be encouraged to strike at the Soviet Unionbefore it could secure such an advantage.2) History shows that placing trust in technology to end war is foolish.The inventor of the machine gun, for example, was convinced that his weaponwas so destructive that no one would ever wage a war against it. to achieve numerical parity within thecontext of SALT I on the assumption that U.S. "Warfare in a Fragile World: Conventional, Nuclear andEnvironmental Weapons." SIPRI Yearbook 1988 (Philadelphia: Taylor andFrancis, 1988).----------------------- 9 But it is highlyquestionable whether we will be able to accommodate the inevitabledevelopments of defensive lasers into offensive first-strike weapons. Thedoctrine of total response was soon reciprocated by the Soviet Union as itbecame sufficiently confident in its nuclear arsenal to issue a similarthreat of massive destruction in event of a nuclear war. Imagine our nervousness if theshoe were on the other foot. Warfare technology historically has shown a momentum of its own.Neither international treaties, political agreements, nor even moralconsiderations have ever dictated technological developments. The State Department and the Pentagon soon came to endorse thePresident's SDI program. "Death Beneath the Waves." New Scientist, September 27, 1979.Blackaby, Frank. While the Sovietsresorted to large yield warheads to make up for poor accuracy, the smallerU.S. They fear that the deployment of aneffective defensive system rendering nuclear weapons obsolete wouldincrease the possibility of a European invasion. The Soviet Unionlagged far behind in quantity and quality of nuclear missiles, but the newthreat of immediate attack revised military strategy. Submarine-launched ballistic missiles are deemed the most likely tosurvive a massive Soviet first-strike. A comprehensive ABMsystem around urban targets (as begun by the Soviets in their Golashprogram) conceivably could provide the user with the means to protectitself from retaliatory strikes, and thereby reduce the dangers of usingnuclear weapons. The idea of ballistic missile defense(BMD) came to the President from a small group of outside advisers and waslaunched without consultation with the State Department or Pentagon (Greve,1985:1). This first-strike advantage hasgenerated much concern in the United States and has been dubbed by RonaldReagan the "window of vulnerability." Defensive Weapons In order to close this alleged "window of vulnerability," the UnitedStates has begun to pursue a program of developing defensive nuclearweapons. The purpose of this research is to examine theoffensive versus defensive nature of nuclear weaponry. The Strategic Defense Initiative, popularly known as "Star Wars," is theprimary defensive program of the United States. Treatieswill not prevent the development of defensive laser systems, and so we mustsimply learn how to accommodate the new technology. Nuclear military policy came to beposited on the fundamental premise of deterrence: a theory that anadversary's offensive behavior can be prevented by persuasive threats ofinflicting unacceptable harm (Lefever and Hunt, 1982:71). The United States must not allow our adversary to get ahead inthis military program. The nuclear powers shouldturn to a policy in which each nation can adequately defend itself againstthe transgressions of another, rather than attempt to deter nuclear attackswith unbelievable threats of massive retaliatory strikes against civilianpopulations. interests would be served bymaintaining a qualitative superiority in technology. Militarytechnology is a double-edged sword. However, nations keep stockpiling nuclear weapons andconstantly develop new types of nuclear weaponry under the auspices ofpreventing a nuclear war. In reality, many defensive weapons,such as a space-based laser system, could wield a first-strike threat inpenetrating an adversary's domestic airspace. The research has been focused ondeploying laser weapons in space, hovering directly above Soviet territory. "SDI." Philadelphia Inquirer, November 17, 1985.Lefever, Ernest; and E. The strategic forces are diversified into land-basedintercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), submarine-launched ballisticmissiles (SLBMs), and aircraft bombers. American scientists are already researching how to "shower" alaser beam onto an entire city, giving SDI the same type of massivedestructive force as nuclear weapons. Nevertheless,that would still leave enough retaliatory force to destroy as many as 2 Soviet cities. "The Strategic Defense Initiative." Congressional Research Service Review, May 1986.Finan, J.S. warheads easily accommodated MIRV technology in which multipleindependently targeted warheads are placed in a single missile. The current nuclearpolicy--Mutual Assured Destruction--will be analyzed for its effectivenessin preventing war, followed by a discussion of whether defensive weaponscan help protect nations. Once used by theUnited States to save American lives in war, nuclear weapons now lost theirwartime utility because of the potential of nuclear retaliation. Each leg of the Triad is capableof inflicting devastating harm to an adversary, and their diversity helpsensure a survivable retaliatory force. A nuclear war is often described as "unthinkable" because it would beso devastating. This possibility would make the Soviet military exceedinglynervous, encouraging Soviet action prior to American deployment of SDI anddestabilizing the existing nuclear policy. The ABM Treaty of SALT I placed alimitation on anti-ballistic missiles (ABMs). Arguments for and Against SDIArguments for SDI1) A nuclear policy based on MAD is dangerous. 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