ABSTRACT
In assessing the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), it is useful to distinguish between two levels: First, a total defense—President Reagan's March 23, 1983, vision of an impermeable defense system that would render nuclear weapons "impotent and obsolete," and Second, a limited defense—a ballistic missile defense (BMD) system that would provide little or no protection for the population but would be capable of defending certain military facilities against ballistic missile attack. A realistic analysis of the impact of past and prospective Soviet offensive and defensive programs leads to the conclusion that US deterrent forces, when taken as a whole, are not in jeopardy. The US government has announced that it is seeking an arms control regime with the Soviet Union that will provide for a stable transition to a defense-dominant strategic posture.
