Arms Control Dreams

America may be heading toward another arms race, according to Mike Moore, a research fellow at The Independent Institute who recently published the book Twilight War: The Folly of U.S. Space Dominance.

Moore called the Chinese missile launch that destroyed a weather satellite last January, a “shot across the bow;” a warning that China has the capabilities to engage in outer-space warfare. He claimed that the United States’ refusal to go on record in favor of a new treaty for the Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space may have serious repercussions in the future.

“I think the Chinese learned from the fall of the Soviet Union. I don’t think [they] want a Cold War,” Moore said. “But they will do it if we persist.”

It should be noted that arms control treaties dating back at least to Kellog-Briand between WW I and II and perhaps even earlier do not have a stunning record of averting war. Moreover, the United States, historically, has proven itself to be virtually the only international superpower that takes such pasts seriously, even abiding by the agreements that the U. S. Senate has failed to ratify, such as SALT II.

The treaties currently in place to regulate military activity in space were signed almost 40 years ago. The 1963 Limited Test Ban Treaty prohibits nuclear-weapon testing in space, and the 1967 Outer Space Treaty keeps nations from stationing weapons of mass destruction there while designating that outer space be used only for peaceful purposes. Since the enactment of those treaties, the development of precision-guided weaponry with the potential to shoot down satellites, or knock them out of orbit, has generated the need for an updated agreement, according to Moore.

The United States and Israel are the only space-faring nations which have not agreed to a revised treaty. At a speech on U.S. policy in outer space in 2000, Eric Javits, the U.S. Ambassador to the Conference on Disarmament (CD), explained the United States’ position. He stated that the peace treaties in place were sufficient, and that the United Sates must keep self-defense in mind before negotiating a new agreement.

“We fully understand that maintaining international peace and security is an overarching purpose that guides activities on earth as well as in outer space, but in the final analysis, preserving national security is likewise necessary and essential,” Javits said.

While the government has maintained that it continues to recognize the common interest of space exploration for all countries, Moore claims that the U.S. dismissal of other nations’ concerns and blocked space negotiations with Russia and China have proved otherwise. He is worried about what he calls “self-proclaimed space warriors” in the American government who argue that military dominance in space will be the only guarantee for international peace.

“I don’t think we’re going to have a cooperative environment if the U.S. has achieved space dominance,” Moore stated. “If you pursue a policy of dominance you are not protecting your assets, you are risking an arms race.”.

Amanda Busse is an intern at the American Journalism Center, a training program run by Accuracy in Media and Accuracy in Academia.