Introduction

Developments during the late 1980s and early 1990s, however, have been so dramatic and fast-paced that features of the international system familiar since immediately after World War II have been transformed beyond recognition. A less visible development of the 1980s was the accelerating proliferation of ballistic missiles, weapons of mass destruction, and other advanced military technology. The case for rejecting defenses, codified by the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, was a reflection of the strategic environment of the time: the arms competition with the Soviet Union and the US-Soviet deterrence stalemate were the only serious considerations in the debate about missile defense. The change in East-West relations and the proliferation of ballistic missiles are prominent features of an emerging strategic environment that will be far different from that which informed the basic case against missile defense in the 1960s.