A modern anachronism : An anatomy of president Reagan's strategic defense initiative

With President Ronald Reagan's strategic defense initiative (SDI) or 'Star Wars,' the U.S. has embarked on a double track road for the decades ahead and well into the 21st century: defensive options and in addition offensive systems. The initial vision of a leakproof SDI has receded into differing variants of only partial 'defensive' shields. The history of the nuclear arms race reveals that the side which is the first to achieve certain technological breakthrough cannot for long prevail over the other. SDI technologies, both existing and under development, are no exception, and only exacerbate the vicious circle of offense-defense and action-reaction policies. History also reveals that U.S. promises of 'sharing' SDI technology and 'transition' to a world of SDI are replete with ambiguity and inconsistency. In a world of SDI, the proclaimed 'elimination' of nuclear weapons will not occur 'for many. many years,' with-no assurances of when and how it will be achieved. Problems of nuclear weapons should be expressed differently. Can we live with nuclear weapons 'for many, many years', or do we want to abolish them? Nuclear deterrence has never been and cannot be stabilizing. Attempts by one nation, or a group of nations belonging to either of the opposing blocs, to achieve unilateral 'National' security based on narrow 'national' interest are anachronistic and .incompatible with emerging world interdependence.