ABSTRACT
The U.S. Commission on National Security for the Twenty-First Century maintained that “Outer Space and cyberspace are the main arteries of the world's evolving systems. Through technical and diplomatic means, the U.S. needs to guard against the possibility of ‘breakout’ capabilities in space and cyberspace that would endanger U.S. survival or critical interests.” 2 In his first speech on military affairs after announcing his candidacy for president in 1999, George W. Bush affirmed the concept of a “Revolution in Military Affairs” (RMA) and was soon touting the virtues of a National Missile Defense (NMD) shield. Upon obtaining the presidency through a highly controversial electoral process, Bush called for a dramatic increase in military spending and pushed the space missile NMD program, popularly known as Star Wars II. The Bush administration also undermined collective security based on multilateral negotiations and treaties over weapons control by renouncing nuclear weapons treaties and attempts to regulate nuclear testing, biological and chemical weapons, small arms trading, land mines, and environmental treaties, which had been carefully nurtured by decades of diplomacy.
