ABSTRACT
President Ronald Reagan surprised the US defense establishment on March 23, 1983 when he introduced the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI). The signing of the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty settled for a time the question of whether the United States should pursue defenses against long-range missiles, and debate on the subject subsided. Discussions of missile defense increasingly focused on "enhancing deterrence" by undermining the Soviet Union's confidence in its offensive capabilities, particularly its capability to threaten US retaliatory forces in a preemptive first strike. The Bush Administration introduced a significant redirection of the SDI. This new direction focuses on "protection" as the primary SDI goal, a role that is uniquely suited to missile defense. The goal of a "cooperative transition" was developed by the Reagan Administration. Bush Administration officials continue to call for a "cooperative transition" and have maintained the US position at the Defense and Space Talks which attempts to facilitate such a transition.
