ANTY-BALlISTIC MISSILE TrEATY

ANTY-BALlISTIC MISSILE TrEATY

The ABM Treaty was signed at Moscow May 26,1972. The US and the Soviet Union agreed that each may have only two ABM areas,so restricted and so located that they cannot provide a nationwide ABM defense.

The US and the URSS signed a protocol in 1976 which reduced the number of AMB areas from two to one.

The AMB is being developed to protect both nations against a limited attack by long range ballistic missiles.

Bush tears up missile treaty,the new President's foreign policy speech spelt the end of America's involvement with the ABM treaty.

He said that the treaty was not relevant to a new strategic environment it's only an irrelevant

relic of Cold War and to mantain peace we must seek security based on more than the premise that we can destroy those who seek to destroy us.

He called on Russia to help devise a new agreement and that Russia and America should work together to develop a new foundation for world peace.

Mr Bush avoided saying that America would abrogate the ABM treaty but said that the changing nature of the world and its security situation had overtaken the provisions of the treaty and that it must be recast.

Despite Russia's long opposition to a US national missile defense system,Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov responded to President Bush using a surprinsingly conciliatory tone

Ivanov praised US s to consult with other nations on the program.

Ivanov said that it is extremely important that the US administration doesn't intend to take unilateral steps,but intends to consult with its allies and friends,including Russia.

The only Russia's argument against the US system is that it would violate the 1972 ABM treaty,which allows Russia and the US only minimal missile defenses.

The US says the missile defense system is needed to counter the potential threat posed by smaller nations like Iran or North Korea belevied to be developing nuclear weapons.

President Bush's to build a missile defense system has met with skepticism from many contries,including allies,that worry it could destabilize relations among nuclear powers,result in a new a arms race and cause the US to feel invulnerable and act recklessly.

China has been themost opponent of the system,because the few nuclear weapons it owns, could be compromised by an effective US system.

China's Foreign Minister Sun Yuxi said that the US missile defence has violated the ABM treaty and that it will destroy the balance of international security forces and could cause a new arms race and that when you invent a shield,you will invent new types of spear,it always goes on like that.

National missile defense is:

- A diplomatic disaster

Deployment of national missile defense requires abrogation of the 1972 ABM treaty,without this neither Russia nor China can feel secure in its deterrent capabilities. Most of the European countries recognize these dangers and for this reason they oppose US national missile defense.

- impossibily expensive,it costs £60 bilion

- a strategic threat

The US administration claims that missile defense is targeted against the threat of a rogue state. Yet,no rogue state would target the US with a ballistic missiel, when simpler,cheaper, effective,untraceable means of delivery of a small atomic weapon are available.

The national missile defense won't work

A country that decided to deliver biological weapons by ballistic missile could divide the lethal agent  into 100 or more small bombs,known as bomblets,as a way of dispersing the agent over the target. The defense couldn't shoot at so many warheads.

An attacker launching missiles could disguise the warhead by enclosing it in an aluminium-coated ballon and relasing with a large number of empty ballons.  None of the missile defense sensors could tell which ballon held the warhead and again the defense could not shoot at all of them.

The warhead could be enclosed in a thin shroud cooled with liquid nitrogen so it would be invisible to the heat-seeking interceptors the defense will use