ABSTRACT
This chapter considers some of the political and military background pertinent to the relationship between Russian-American strategic nuclear arms limitations and missile defense. It analyses for several cases of candidate 'New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START)-minus' agreements allegedly under study by the Obama administration, including the possible implications of missile defenses for deterrence stability under post-New START reductions. The chapter shows how ambitious the US and Russia can be in reducing strategic nuclear forces, not only in terms of their own security and defense requirements, but also with respect to the need for involvement of other nuclear weapons states. The Obama administration reportedly tasked the Pentagon to develop planning scenarios with multiple options for further reductions in US and Russian strategic nuclear forces. Nuclear arms control, including the possible deployment of strategic missile or air defenses, is an aspect of military strategy and national security policy, not a thing in itself.
