International Network of Engineers and Scientists Against Proliferation

Bulletin 18 - Moving Beyond Missile Defense

Conclusions of MBMD Project Workshop

Santa Barbara, 19 - 21 March 2001

Moving Beyond Missile Defense, a joint project of the International Network of Engineers and Scientists Against Proliferation (INESAP) and the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, held its first international workshop in Santa Barbara March 19-21, 2001. The goals of the workshop were to begin a process of examining the technical and political problems posed by missile defenses and to explore alternatives. The workshop brought together scientists and security experts to initiate an International Study Group to contribute key findings to the political and public debate on the issue. Participants in the workshop reached the following preliminary findings:

Ballistic missile defense (BMD) cannot provide security. Missile defenses can be easily overcome by simple countermeasures, including lowtechnology decoys. Such systems will create instability because they will provoke other countries, in particular Russia and China, to strengthen and build up their offensive capabilities.

Deployment of ballistic missile defenses will undermine long-standing arms control agreements, including the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty and the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaties (START I and II). BMD will prevent further international efforts for non-proliferation, arms control and disarmament.

US efforts to develop and deploy missile defenses are perceived by other countries to create increased offensive and war-fighting capabilities as part of a long-term strategy to control outer space. n Ballistic missile defenses will provoke rather than prevent the proliferation of ballistic missiles, contributing to regional conflicts and arms races.

Ballistic missile defenses do not provide a solution to the risks of the Nuclear Age, but rather multiply the uncertainties, complexities and instabilities of nuclear deterrence.

Missile defenses and the militarization of outer space are inextricably linked. The weaponization of space must be prohibited.

We therefore recommend:

The best alternative to ballistic missile defense is the complete abolition of nuclear weapons and all weapons of mass destruction and the abolition of ballistic missiles and other delivery systems. To achieve the abolition of ballistic missiles, an international missile control and disarmament regime should be established. As practical first steps, we recommend the improved information exchange on missiles and missile launches, a missile test ban and the establishment of missile free zones.

The 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty, which prohibits the US and Russia from developing and deploying a national missile defense, must be preserved until a more comprehensive international framework can be established.

The weaponization of outer space should be prevented by an international agreement.

Cooperation among all states should be supported and the demonization of particular countries and their peoples should be opposed. In particular, diplomatic efforts with countries like Iran, Iraq, North Korea and Libya should continue.

Security must be fundamentally redefined from the military dimensions of national interests to the fulfillment of human and environmental needs.

The above findings will be further examined by the International Study Group and in a series of regional meetings in Northeast Asia, Europe, South Asia and the Middle East as part of worldwide initiatives to prevent missile defenses, control ballistic missiles and abolish nuclear weapons.

Participants of the "Moving Beyond Missile Defense" workshop at press conference