ABSTRACT
This chapter argues for consideration of two missions for strategic defense: first, to protect against very limited attacks; second, as a complement to an arms control regime designed to bring offensive capabilities below the potential for societal devastation in a nuclear war. While the major focus will be on defense against missiles, applying the concepts described below implies corresponding defensive measures against all types of delivery systems. The chapter focuses primarily on limited defenses as one potentially useful response to nuclear proliferation, and provides some brief observations on establishing a cooperative defensive transition as an ultimate arms control objective. The Strategic Defense Initiative Organization (SDIO) has recently proposed a limited defense deployment scheme under the label Global Protection Against Limited Strike (GPALS). Significant superpower offensive cuts will enhance the relative nuclear strength of Britain, China, and France. Europeans may become at least as interested in their own theater defenses as in their retaliatory potential against the Soviet Union.
