ABSTRACT
As viewed by Moscow, the US Strategic Defense Initiative Strategic Defense Initiative represents a political, scientific-technical, and military challenge to the Soviet Union. The US program poses a challenge to the commitment by the Communist party of the Soviet Union to ensure the continual modernization and maximum effectiveness of the Soviet Armed Forces. Soviet interest in strategic defenses is also a reflection of the belief that offense and defense exist in a dialectical union. In order to maintain equal security and improve the strategic balance, the Soviet Union must be able to match and even exceed US military technologies. The Soviets argue that progress in the development of military technologies is inevitable. Moreover, the Soviet Union as a matter of state policy is committed to ensuring against technological surprise or an unfavorable shift in the strategic balance. The dominant Soviet concern is clearly the deployment of weapons in space.
